Jeff's Protector
by Voyager Tip
Summary: When Drake gets control of the omni, dangers come from many directions.  Phineas is forced to make some difficult choices in order to protect Jeff, but will Jeff be able to forgive him?  Rated T bc I needed a disgusting scene in chapter 5.
1. Missing Moments With Jack

**Chapter 1: Some Missing Moments with Jack**

Nellie Bly's screams pulled Phineas through the dark, foggy streets of London. Finally he could see her attacker from behind and increased his speed. He leaped onto a crate and launched himself at the man. They hit the pavement, holding tightly to each other. Drake was as strong as ever, an equal match of strength and skill. As he slammed Phineas against the wall of the alley, their eyes met, and Phineas could feel Drake's hot breath on his cheek "So help me, Bogg," the dark man grunted just loud enough for Phineas to hear "... if it's the last thing I do... I'll get you."

Then they were scuffling again. Drake heaved a barrel and Phineas ducked as he continued to wheeze. "I swear it," he whispered between clenched teeth, in a voice dripping with hatred. As he stood up, he reached for the silver omni and continued in a louder voice, "oh no Bogg, it's not that easy." Then he pushed the button and disappeared.

Phineas straightened up and relaxed, still breathing hard as the constable ran into the narrow alley. "Hold it there, that's quite enough, Mr. Bogg," he said in an authoritative voice. "Thought you'd come back and finish Nellie off, did you?"

"Bogg!" Jeff's worried voice filled the alley as he ran up.

Phineas glanced at him and nodded, the sign they used to let each other know they were all right.

All was quiet for a moment, and then Dr. Doyle began to explain what had happened.

ooOoo

As they walked back to Doyle's apartment, Jeffrey noticed his friend seemed distracted.

"You okay Bogg?' he finally asked, but there was no answer.

"Hey, earth to Bogg!" he said more loudly, "what's wrong?"

Phineas glanced down at him, not acknowledging the humor, "just thinking."

Jeff stopped at the bottom of the steps and put his hand on his partner's arm, "something's not right," he whispered.

Phineas looked down at him and sighed. "He seemed different."

"Who? Drake?"

"Yeah."

"Different how?"

Phineas shrugged, he didn't want to scare Jeffrey, but on the other hand, if Drake was on some kind of vendetta against him, Jeff should know, for his own safety. "He said he's gonna get me, if it's the last thing he does."

Silence.

"That's just words, Bogg."

"I don't think so. It seemed like..." here he paused, "he didn't seem right."

Jeff stared at him and there was another silence, this one very uncomfortable.

"He's always been crazy," Jeff offered finally.

"This was different. I almost think..." he left the thought unfinished.

"Think what?"

"You might be safer at headquarters, without me." It was hard to say, but Bogg couldn't shake the bad feeling he'd had since Drake's raspy voice had reached his ears in the alley.

"No way Bogg, no way!" was Jeff's immediate response. "Who's gonna watch your back if I'm not there?"

"I'm worried about you, not my back."

Jeff searched his brain frantically for an argument against this idea. He found one quickly. "He hates me too. He might come after me if I'm alone at headquarters." He paused, waiting for Bogg's response.

Phineas looked up at the full moon above them and sighed, then brought his gaze back to meet Jeffrey's. "All right, you're right, we stay together, it's the only way."

Jeff smiled, then gave him a hug.

Footsteps on the street interrupted them as Nellie and Doyle approached.

"I hope you'll come in," Doyle said.

"Why don't you take Jeffrey upstairs," Nellie said forcefully to Doyle. "I'd like to speak with Mr. Bogg alone."

Jeff and Doyle climbed the steps as Nellie prepared to interrogate Phineas about Drake's disappearance and the real function of his omni.


	2. Wilson

**Chapter 2: Wilson**

_Ten months later..._

Katie Williamson sat in her swivel chair in front of the console at Voyager Headquarters. It was a quiet afternoon and her shift was almost over. She glanced at the console next to hers and saw his hand relaxed next to the Control Dial. This meant he was reclined back, also relaxing.

"Hi Katie, how was your day?" a short blonde spoke as she approached from the other side.

Katie pulled her attention back to the shift report she needed to give her relief. She smiled and pushed a strand of long dark hair behind her ear as she started through the checklist of topics she needed to report on.

"And that's about it," she finished, "like I said, it's been a great day." A smile crossed her lips as she turned to get up. She walked past him, a bit too close, so her arm brushed his on her way to the closet to retrieve her coat. He was still giving report, so she paused before donning her coat to wait for him.

Rick Wilson felt Katie's arm brush against his and his heart rate quickened. She had only been working in Omni Control for a few months, and last evening he had finally gotten up the courage to ask her out. He'd been astonished when she gave such an immediate response. She had gotten to know most of the control crew since her arrival and everyone liked her. She was smart, efficient and funny. Rick had been drawn to her since the day they met. That she would want to spend the evening with him so willingly seemed too good to be true.

As he turned back to the console to officially log out, a small blue dot lit up and blinked twice. Rick's jaw dropped open, but he closed it quickly. _"Not tonight,"_ he whispered to himself as he closed out the screen. He continued to sit staring at the now blank screen, dreading what he had to do.

"Okay, I need to sit to take over," Karim said sarcastically as she waited for him to get up.

Rick stood up, "sorry, have a good shift," he murmured as he moved toward the closet. Katie was still there waiting for him.

He paused a few feet from her and hesitated. "I'm really sorry Katie, but something just came up and I'm not gonna to able to see you tonight."

She narrowed her eyes and stepped back.

"What happened?" she asked.

"It's personal," he paused, "I have to take care of it tonight."

"Oh," her voice was soft, disappointed.

He could tell she felt hurt. He wished he could tell her more, but there was just no way. He'd never be able to tell anyone, and that meant he'd probably never be able to have a real relationship with anyone either... ever. He had always known that was true, but now that Katie was here standing before him, it seemed like so much more of a problem than it had before.

"Fine then, I'll see you tomorrow." As she said it, her voice cracked, betraying her feelings. She hated the fact that her voice always betrayed her feelings. It was the reason she could never work in the field. Out in the timestream, Voyagers sometimes had to lie, or act and she wasn't any good at either.

She wondered in confusion if she was being dumped. But, didn't you have to actually date someone first, before they broke up with you? She had thought she'd gotten to know Rick Wilson fairly well over the past three months and that he was something special. Maybe she was wrong. Suddenly, she wanted to get away. She could be confused and embarrassed in private. She turned abruptly and then she was gone.

Rick's stomach turned over, then he pulled on his coat and walked quickly in the opposite direction. He rapidly made his way back to the apartment complex and soon entered his small apartment. In the bedroom, he opened the locked drawer beside his bed and took out an omni. He hinged up the back panel and spoke quietly into it.

"I'm here, what is it?" he asked the omni.

"I have a job for you," came a familiar voice, a voice he couldn't let anyone know he could hear. It was Drake.


	3. Drake

**Chapter 3: Drake**

Alfred Drake sat at the workbench and stared at the device he had spent months perfecting. He was sure it was working, and was anxious to finally put it to the test, and if something went terribly wrong, he certainly wouldn't shed a tear over Phineas Bogg or Jeffrey Jones.

"I've got it" Wilson said as he entered without knocking. He knew Drake wouldn't mind the interruption because of the nature of his visit. He had been assigned to obtain a Voyager Locator, at any cost. Fortunately, no one had to pay any price, though Drake had ordered him to kill if he had to. He shuddered as he thought of it. Drake had no idea how much he hated him, and he wasn't about to tell him, or give him any indication. He placed the small device on the bench in front of Drake.

Drake smiled as he picked it up. "Where did you get it?" he whispered as he stroked the device gently, almost lovingly with his finger.

"From the safe."

"Well done," Drake answered, and his heart swelled. This device held the key to his plan. He had spent a long time with a laser-like focus on his one objective. Getting even with Phineas Bogg. With this device, he was one step closer to completion.

He had also spent a great deal of time in contemplation about what would hurt Bogg the most. He had come to the conclusion that harming the child, or even killing him, would be a good start, especially if Bogg was forced to watch it happen.

He had the first steps planned out. Their omni would need to be controlled, so Drake could put them where he wanted, and he was closer to completing that task than anyone had ever been. The circuits inside the Voyager Locator would help him finish the job.

He'd read about other rogue voyagers who had tried to gain control of an omni in the field, but none of them had had Drake's intelligence, or as much of a grudge to settle. He already had a plan for how to kill the boy. It would be easy, and he could do it from his comfortable lab. That would devastate Bogg, he was sure of it. From then on, he would be an easier target.


	4. Dorset, England, 1774

**Chapter 4 Dorset, England, 1774**

Phineas Bogg leaned against the stone wall, about 30 feet from where Jeff stood with Gretchen. He could see the light dancing off of her auburn curls. It was easy to understand Jeff's infatuation with her. Bogg hated to end it, he could understand how Jeffrey felt, but the omni had been green for half a day, it was definitely time to go.

She kissed Jeff shyly, on the cheek, and then turned and walked down the narrow path.

Jeff's face turned red and his heart raced. He fought down an illogical urge to race after her, to give up voyaging forever. He held up his hand in a silent farewell, as the girl turned and waved sadly. Then she was gone.

Bogg waited a few moments before he spoke. "So, are you ready to go?"

Jeff sighed and the red vanished from his face. He turned and walked over to Bogg "yeah."

"I know it's hard," his partner said, "but you still have me."

"It's not exactly the same thing," Jeff started, then remembered who he was talking to, and smiled.

Bogg laughed, "I know kid," he said sympathetically.

"Does it get easier, the more girls you meet?"

"Depends on the girl. I think Gretchen would be hard to leave even after you've known a hundred girls."

"She sure is special," Jeff admitted, then put his hand on Bogg's arm, indicating his readiness to leave, and Phineas pushed the button.

The trip through the cosmos was not a normal one. Their speed was erratic, seeming to be faster than normal at first, then slower. The direction too was not smooth. Jeff could feel himself pulled first in one direction, then in another and when he finally felt himself dropping, he felt stomach sick.

They landed harder than usual, on the side of a steep hill, and rolled down, landing in the middle of a dirt road.

Jeff sat up slowly and reached up to rub his head where he had bumped it on the hard ground. He looked around, still feeling a bit sick, and finally saw his partner, laying behind him, flat on his back and not moving.

"Bogg!" he whispered and quickly crawled to him.

"Yeah," Bogg answered as Jeff approached him, but he still didn't move to sit up.

"Are you hurt? What's wrong?" Jeff asked as he laid one hand on each of Bogg's shoulders and squeezed.

"I don't think hurt... just sick...dizzy," he paused, "you okay?"

"Yeah, I feel sick too. What happened? It's never been like that before."

Phineas shook his head slowly, "I don't know. I've never felt anything like that. It felt like we were being pulled, or dragged somewhere." He unhooked the omni and held it up, above his face as he lay in the dust.

"Where are we?"

"Dorset, England, 1774. Green light."

"Why are we in a green zone?" Jeff asked. "I thought we only go to green zones if we're hurt, or sick or something?" he paused, "course after that trip, I guess we are."

"Does this date and place ring any bells?"

Jeff thought for a minute, then shook his head, "no."

"There's something about this place I should remember," Phineas said in a far off voice, "I just can't think."

"Can you sit up? I'll help."

Bogg nodded and Jeff helped him sit up. To his surprise, he felt better in an upright position. He got to his knees, then cautiously stood up straight and took a deep breath. He felt better, and kept his hand on Jeffrey as the boy cautiously stood up too."

"Are we okay?" Bogg asked and Jeff nodded and looked around.

"I didn't think people decorated their yards with scarecrows in 1774," Jeff remarked and started walking toward the only house in site. A scarecrow stood in front of it, held up by a long pole with a shorter pole stuck across at shoulder height for the arms.

Phineas glanced where Jeff had pointed out the straw man, then suddenly lunged forward, wrapping his arms tightly around Jeff's middle, pulling him back.

"Hey, let go of me," Jeff yelled, incensed at being so roughly treated.

"Stay away from that," Bogg shouted too loudly into his ear.

"What's wrong with you?" Jeff yelled back, struggling out of his partner's grip.

"That X on his chest," Bogg said, pointing.

Jeff looked more closely at the scarecrow, and this time he noticed a large black X over its chest. "Okay, what about it?"

"That's the sign for smallpox. Someone in this house has it, or died of it recently. It's not safe to touch anything."

Jeff stood still and glanced up at Bogg, ready for instructions.

Phineas stood staring at the scarecrow, his stomach was still upset, but now his heart and his mind were racing too. This was a dangerous place, especially for Jeffrey. "We've gotta get out of here," he said as he opened the omni and prepared to turn the dials. He stared at it in shock.

"What's wrong?" Jeff asked.

"It's not working," he whispered and turned it to face Jeffrey so the kid could see that there were no lights. The omni was completely dark. After another few seconds, Phineas spoke again. "We have to find dairy cows. Come on, and don't touch anything." They walked in the center of the road toward a steeple that stood above the tree line in the distance. "Churches are usually in the center of towns," Phineas told Jeff as he pointed out the steeple.

"Do we want to be in the center of a town with smallpox in it?"

"We don't know where the disease is, and we need to find cows. I'm betting there are farms on the other side of this village."

Jeff walked in silence. Privately, he wondered if Bogg was still feeling some odd after-effects from their journey. His sudden interest in cows was strange. He had never talked about cows before, and Jeff couldn't see any connection between cows and their malfunctioning omni.

As they rounded a bend, they came upon a small farm, and as they approached, a girl walked out of the barn carrying a jug.

"Hello," Phineas said as they approached.

She smiled at him and Jeff could see her eyes travel up and down as she looked at his partner.

"G'day," she greeted them.

"Is that milk?" Bogg said, pointing to the jug she carried. Jeff rolled his eyes.

"Aye," she answered.

"We just arrived and saw the sign for the smallpox over yonder," Bogg motioned in the direction they had just come from.

The girl nodded, "it's hit a few families."

"Are the cows healthy?" he asked.

"Now what would you be askin that for?' she queried him in surprise.

"I need to find some cowpox."

She didn't answer right away. "No one believes that old tale, they call us crazy."

"I believe it," he answered, "I need it for the boy." Bogg paused and waited, holding his breath.

She stared at him for a few seconds before answering. "About a mile up the track there's a farm. The herd was acting sick when last I talked to Maddie, she works there."

Phineas exhaled, "thank you," he whispered, then turned to Jeffrey.

"This is gonna sound strange," he began, "but, I want to give you cowpox."

"Everything you're saying sounds strange, and what do you mean 'give' me cowpox? What's cowpox?"

"It's a sickness, but it's not too serious."

"No way Bogg," Jeff said shaking his head. "That trip through the cosmos must have messed you up more than me."

"Will you listen to me," Phineas began angrily, in desperation, "if you've had cowpox, you can't get smallpox."

"How do you know?" Jeff challenged him.

"Because milkmaids spend a lot of time around cows. They've all had cowpox and they don't get smallpox. They all know it, but the rest of the world won't believe them for about a hundred years."

"And you know this because you spend a lot of time around milkmaids?" Jeff asked skeptically.

"Who cares why I know it, all that matters is that it's true."

Jeff didn't answer, so Phineas continued.

"Look, I'll try and fix the omni, but sometimes it gets tricky and it might take a few days. We'll have to find an infected cow, expose you, and then try to fix the omni. If I can fix it, we'll head for a green zone where you can rest until you feel better, and if I can't, you'll be sick here, but when you recover, we'll both be protected."

"Are you gonna get it too then?"

"I've already been immunized. I can't believe I didn't think to get you immunized after the trial."

Jeff paused and shook his head. "Sorry, but I'd rather take my chances with smallpox, maybe I won't get it." He started to walk away, but Phineas put out his hand and stopped him.

"Listen, smallpox was one of the major killers in history. If you get it you almost always die a horrible death."

"But maybe we can fix the omni..."

"We can't afford to waste any time. You need to get exposed and then get sick and recover, all before you're exposed to any smallpox germs. And we don't know where those germs are. It's not safe here. It's not safe for you to touch anything." Bogg stared at him for a long moment, then stood up and turned to the girl. "What's your name?" he asked.

"Sadie."

"I need a little dish of wine Sadie."

She nodded and went back into the barn.

"I thought you didn't drink?" Jeff asked in disbelief.

"I don't."

"Why would she give a complete stranger some wine?" Jeff asked as he watched her return with a shallow pottery bowl.

"Because there's a smallpox epidemic," Bogg whispered to Jeff, "that's why I remember this place. We're in the middle of one of the biggest smallpox epidemics in history. It swept through half of England." In a louder voice he continued when the girl returned with the bowl, "thank you Sadie. Is there a fire?" and she pointed to an open hearth off to the side of the barn. Bogg removed a pocketknife from his vest and started toward the fire.

"How exactly would I go about getting cowpox?" Jeff asked uncertainly as he followed his partner toward the flames.

Phineas paused, he knew the description wouldn't sound very appealing, so he tried to couch it in the most tolerable terms he could. He put the knife into the fire as he spoke, "well, some of the virus needs to get on your skin, where there's a scratch, or..."

"You're gonna cut me with that knife, aren't you?" Jeff interrupted.

"Just a scratch so the virus can get in."

"No way. I want my skin in one piece, people die of infections in this time, what if that kills me?"

"This blade is getting red hot, and we've got alcohol for when we get to the farm," it'll be as clean as we can make it."

"I can't believe this, you're really serious!"

Bogg nodded, "every minute we waste discussing it is dangerous."

Jeff shook his head, "okay, I'll go," but his tone made it clear that he wasn't convinced this was the right thing to do. "I don't want to, just so you know that."

"Good, come on," Phineas said, relieved, and immediately led the way toward the road, in the direction of the farm, carrying the dish of wine and the knife.


	5. Driven

**Chapter 5 Driven**

"There they are," Phineas announced as they approached a pasture and a few cows came into view.

"They do look sick," Jeff observed and it was true. As they approached the cows, rough patches where fur had fallen out could be seen on their backs. In each hairless area was an open sore and a trickle of fluid that Jeff thought must be pus had made paths over the flanks of the animal and down its legs and belly. He watched as something dripped off the udder, and suddenly felt sick.

"Let me see your arm," Phineas said, reaching for Jeff's wrist.

Jeff's expression showed his displeasure. He kept his arm bent, resisting Bogg's pull at first, but slowly he straightened it and let the man he trusted hold his arm.

"Ow!" Jeff yelled and pulled away from him, as quick as a flash, Phineas scratched his arm with the knife blade.

"Sorry, that's the only thing that'll hurt," Phineas reassured him.

Jeff stood holding his arm as blood from the small cut slowly trickled down toward his elbow. Then he watched in shock, as his partner bent down and scraped the knife blade across the pus that was dripping from the sore on the poor animal's udder.

"No way Bogg," Jeff said, taking a step backward and shaking his head. "I changed my mind."

"It won't hurt, scratching you with the knife hurt more than this will," Phineas explained as he stood up holding the pus-covered knife blade in front of him.

"Get away from me!" Jeff repeated, and took a step back.

"Come on, you can't back out now..."

"I sure can!" Jeff interrupted him angrily. "Get away from me with that!"

Phineas took one quick step toward Jeffrey, grabbed his arm again, and wiped the knife blade over the cut.

"Hey! I said no!" Jeff yelled and tried to twist his arm to get away, but Phineas held on, and still moving quickly, wrapped a clean cloth around the cut, holding the pus in place over the scratch he had made.

"The longer we wait, the more dangerous it is," he said as he let go and Jeffrey backed away from him.

"You had no right to do that!" Jeff shouted.

"I'm sorry kid, but it didn't look like you'd agree."

"And that's why you shouldn't have done it!" Jeff shouted.

Phineas moved toward Jeffrey and spoke softly, "I'm really sorry ..."

"Don't touch me," Jeff said angrily and moved out from under Bogg's hand.

Phineas paused, he felt terrible, and Jeff's reaction made it worse.

"I'm sorry kid, really, but it's the only way to protect you. And we just can't afford to wait."

"Just stay away from me," Jeff repeated and Phineas heard a tone he'd never heard from Jeff before. It seemed to be a strange mix of rage and fear, but Jeff couldn't be afraid of him, could he?

"I did it to save you," Bogg whispered as Jeff moved farther away, then turned toward the dirt track.

As they made there way back to Sadie's barn, Jeff walked on the opposite side of the track as far away from Phineas as he could get. He could feel the ooze under the wrapping on his arm, and as he thought about what was covering his cut, he suddenly felt sick. He stopped and bent over, dry heaving onto the grass on the side of the road. He held his arm straight out to the side, as far away from his body as he could get it, and tried to force himself to think about something else. Sweat soaked his forehead as he took a deep breath, trying to block out any thoughts except that he wanted to keep walking to get away from his partner. Bogg had no right to do this to him when he had refused, he thought angrily. He didn't care about him at all. _"Well, from now on, I don't care about you either," Jeff thought to himself._ "When can I take this off?" he asked in a hostile voice as he straightened up.

"A few hours," Phineas answered softly. He had stood uncertainly, watching Jeff get sick, wanting to reach out to him, but knowing the kid would push him away.

"How many?" Jeff repeated in a nasty tone.

"Three," he answered quickly, afraid that if he took too long to answer, it might make Jeff even angrier. In truth, he wasn't sure how long was necessary, a few minutes might be all that was needed, but he erred on the side of caution, figuring that three hours would definitely cover it.

As they walked along the road, on opposite sides, on their way back to Sadie's barn, Phineas wondered sadly when Jeff might forgive him for this. He'd had no choice, this situation had no other options and he'd felt driven by a sense of urgency and panic that were foreign to him. He wasn't one to panic, but Jeff's life was at stake. It was just as dangerous as if there was a loaded gun pointed at his head. Jeff just didn't understand that.

He rubbed his temple as he walked. He felt terrible. His stomach had never completely recovered from their journey here, and now, on top of the nausea, it felt like it was tied up in knots. They reached the barn and Jeff quickly moved towards a wooded area on the edge of the barnyard.

"Stay where I can see you," Bogg called after him and noticed that he did stop before he actually entered the woods, but he didn't acknowledge the instruction at all.

As the edge of the sun touched the top of the trees that lined the field, Jeff walked to the pond, ripped off the bandage and washed his arm. He was pretty good about estimating the passage of time without a clock.

They spent the next two days in the barn where Sadie lived. There were several tack rooms and a shed attached to the rear of the structure and Sadie had been happy for some company, especially Bogg's company. He spent most of his time at a bench in the tack room, trying to fix the omni, and the rest, socializing with Sadie. He felt the barn was the safest place for Jeffrey, and wanted to stay in her good graces. On the second day, they heard two rumors about men from farms outside of the village who had taken ill with smallpox.

During those days, Jeffrey stayed as far away from Phineas as he could. When he was forced to be close, he looked away and ignored him as much as possible. Phineas watched him, worried that he might be accidentally exposed to smallpox too soon, but equally distressed by Jeff's indifference to his presence. He had tried to talk to Jeff, but the kid hadn't spoken to him at all since his exposure. Phineas had never felt so much stress. What if Jeffrey couldn't forgive him for this? What would he do? Suddenly, he realized that it wasn't just Jeffrey needing him, he needed Jeff, too. He needed Jeff to care about him and be his family. Somehow, he didn't think he would feel complete otherwise, and that was something he didn't want to think about.

On the third day, Jeffrey approached the rough bench where Bogg was still trying to fix the omni.

"Well, you got your wish," he said in a hostile tone. They were the first words he had spoken to his partner since his exposure to the disease.

"What wish?"

"I'm sick."

Phineas looked up from his task, "does your arm hurt?" Sadie had told him that was the first sign.

"Yeah."

"Chills too?"

"What'd you think, I just said I was sick," Jeff answered irritably.

Phineas paused, then stood up and pointed to the inside of the barn. "Come and lie down."

Jeff walked back to the tack room they'd been sleeping in. It wasn't fancy, but he noticed that today, there was clean bedding on the cot. He lay down thankfully. His head was pounding and the cut on his arm ached terribly.

Phineas watched him from the doorway, afraid that Jeff wouldn't want him to get too close, but needing to be there. There was a long silence after Jeff lay down, and finally Phineas moved to sit beside the cot. Jeffrey's eyes were closed and he didn't seem to notice.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Phineas asked cautiously.

"Just leave me alone." The tone was cold, angry.

Phineas sighed and continued to sit beside the boy. "I can't," he whispered.

Within fifteen minutes, Jeff began to move around restlessly. Phineas felt his forehead. He'd expected him to have a fever, but was unprepared for how fast it had developed.

Jeff turned his head from side to side. "Bogg," he murmured, over and over again.

Phineas filled a basin from the well and wiped Jeff's forehead and face with a cool rag. As the hours ticked by, Jeff's voice grew weaker. Phineas had cared for many sick people during his time as a voyager, but nothing had prepared him for the desperation and worry he felt as he worked through the evening, trying to ease some of Jeffrey's suffering. No matter what he did, the fever seemed to keep going up.

"How's the boy?" Sadie asked, poking her head into the room at about midnight.

"His fever keeps getting worse no matter what I do," Phineas said in desperation as he continued to work. He knew it was late and that she was awake out of concern for them, but he was too upset to express anything but near-panic.

"I know it seems very bad, but he'll only be this sick for one night. In the morning, he'll start to improve."

Phineas glanced at her, "I hope you're right," he whispered. In truth, Jeff's voice had become so much weaker over the past hour, that Phineas wasn't sure how much more of this fever he could take. It was easy for Sadie to say it would be better in the morning, but she didn't love Jeff like Phineas did. He was scared, and suffering right along with the boy.

"I never should have exposed him to this," he whispered to himself, but even as the words formed in his mind, he knew there had been no choice. Even if Jeff had been immunized in school, Phineas knew that vaccines could wear off. After all, didn't they pull voyagers back to headquarters every 5 years for check-ups and booster shots? And Jeff had been with him for 2 years already. If he'd been vaccinated in school, he would've been young and it might have worn off by now. There was just no other course of action for him to take. He had felt driven by the urgency of getting the virus into Jeff immediately. His single-minded focus had been so intense that he hadn't even wanted to talk to jeff about it, he'd just done it. That's why Jeff now hated him, and Bogg desperately hoped he could find it in his heart to forgive him.

As much as he knew he'd had no choice, he still felt intense remorse. He had made Jeffrey this sick. It was one hundred percent his fault and he wanted to strike out at something so that he would feel pain too. But he couldn't move away from Jeff, he had to keep working. He had no idea how much he was helping him, or even if he was helping at all, but he couldn't seem to stop putting the cool cloths on his head and wiping down his face and upper body. Through it all, Jeff just kept moving restlessly, and saying his name, in a weaker and weaker voice.

Suddenly, a thought struck him. He pushed the covers aside, then leaned down and gently picked Jeff up and headed for the door. He carried him through the barn and walked into the pond and sat down, pulling Jeff's head close to his chest and pushing his body under the water. After a few minutes, he thought he could feel Jeffrey relax a bit. He wrapped his arms around the kid and pushed his wet hand over Jeff's hot forehead and across his cheek.

"Just stick with me kid, that's all you gotta do," he whispered as they sat in the water together.


	6. Recovery

**Chapter 6 Recovery**

An eternity later, the sun peeked over the trees on the east edge of the field and a rooster crowed. Jeffrey had continued to call out for him throughout the night in a weak voice.

"It's okay, you're okay," Phineas whispered each time, and he hoped it was true. The kid seemed very weak. He had tried once, to move his arms up and around Bogg's neck, but though he had succeeded, he didn't have the strength to hold on for very long.

"What're you doing in there?" Sadie's voice interrupted his thoughts. She stood on the shore behind him.

Phineas glanced over his shoulder at her, "I thought it would help," he said tiredly.

Soon there were 20 cows lined up along the edge of the pond, loudly drinking their fill. The day had begun, and the pond was a focal point of the farm.

Phineas stayed in the water, continuing to cradle Jeff in his arms and keeping him submerged as much as he could to keep the fever down.

When the sun was high in the sky, a voice broke the silence.

"Are we in a lake?" Jeff asked. His voice was exhausted, but still held a tone of surprise and Bogg smiled.

"Yeah, 'fraid so," he answered in a quiet voice.

"That's kind of strange, isn't it?" Jeff whispered. He had not moved yet and it didn't look like he intended to.

Phineas pulled him closer and hugged him as he spoke, "yeah, I guess. How do you feel?"

"Like I could sleep for a week," was the soft reply.

"I've got just the place where you can do that," Phineas answered and stood up and carried him back to the tack room. He carefully set him down and handed him a cup of water.

Jeff drank it quickly and then lay back and rolled over. "Thanks Bogg," he murmured as he fell asleep.

Phineas stared at his back, a lump in his throat. He sat down heavily on the chair beside the bed. Jeff would be okay, and he didn't seem to be angry any more. And when smallpox struck the other families in this village, if they were still here, they would both be protected. It seemed so simple now, from this side of the experience, but he wouldn't repeat the ordeal of the past few days for anything. He shook his head and wondered if all parents felt this way sometimes. This might actually be the first time he had truly acted like a parent to Jeff and it had been a hard thing to do. He had made a decision about Jeff's life that the kid didn't agree with, and it had made him very sick. He hoped Jeff could forgive him when he woke up and was back to normal.

Jeffrey slept the rest of the day. Every few hours, Phineas roused him for a drink, but he easily slipped back into a sound sleep. That evening, he woke up on his own, feeling more like himself.

"I got this from down the track," Sadie said as she entered the tack room with a basket of bread and cheese.

"Why not from the farmhouse?" Bogg asked, motioning his head toward the large farmhouse across the yard.

"The master's down with the pox," she said in a hushed tone. "The doctor wants to talk to you."

Bogg looked up and then stood as a tall man with thick red hair entered.

"Ben Jesty," the man announced and held out his hand.

"Let's talk outside," Bogg answered, and ignoring his hand, motioned for them both to leave. Once they were out of the barn, Bogg explained. "The boy hasn't had the pox, you might be carrying it."

Ben lowered his hand. "I heard what you did to make him sick, my son hasn't had it either. I'm going to do the same thing."

They stood in silence staring at each other.

"Do it now," Bogg counseled.

"How did you do it?" Ben asked.

Bogg hesitated. Would it change history if he told him? He wasn't sure. "How long have you been thinking about doing this?"

"Since the first case hit Lancaster, last spring."

Bogg nodded slowly, "so why didn't you do it then?"

"I should've. I didn't want to hurt him." As he spoke, a boy of about eight slipped out from behind a wagon. He had red hair like his father, and freckles.

"So you already must have an idea of how to do it."

Ben Jesty looked him in the eye, then nodded. "I cut im an apply the pus," he said.

Bogg nodded, hoping his advice hadn't messed up history.

"Good luck with your son," Jesty said as he and the boy started toward the farm with the sick cows.

"You too." Then he turned and went back inside.

oOo

"Bogg, someone in the house has smallpox," Jeff said as he entered the storeroom.

"Yeah."

"What should we do?"

Bogg shrugged, "you should rest and I should keep trying to fix the omni."

oOo

The next day brought the news that the master had died and his wife had taken ill. Jeffrey spent the morning eating everything that was offered to him. In the afternoon he began pacing around the small tack room.

"When can I get out of here?" he asked Bogg repeatedly, but the answer was always the same.

"The only way we're leaving is to omni out."

"Are you any closer to fixing that Mickey Mouse watch of yours?"

"It's not a watch ."

Jeff sighed, "can I try?"

"And who in the world is Mickey Mouse?" Bogg asked, ignoring his question.

"Come on Bogg... Walt Disney? The Mickey Mouse Club? Donald Duck?"

"Donald Duck?" Bogg paused between the words, in mock surprise. He could hardly contain his happiness that Jeff was here joking around with him. He'd missed his smart mouth, though he'd probably never admit that to Jeff.

"Come on, you can tell me what to do, I just want to..."

_Ding_.

The sound surprised them both, and they stared at the omni in disbelief. Bogg quickly turned it over and opened it. "Green light," he announced and smiled as he turned it towards his partner.

"About time."

"Time to go," Bogg said as he turned to reach for his vest.

"Hey Bogg?"

"Yeah?" Phineas said as he put on his vest and adjusted it.

"What does an orange light mean?"

Bogg turned immediately toward him and took the omni, the light had changed to orange. He slid his finger over the left edge and he pushed two buttons on the back in sequence, "nothing good, that's for sure," he said in a tense voice.

Jeff watched open mouthed as Bogg hinged open the back of the omni again, this time to reveal a circular screen, similar to the one that had displayed their missions during the trial. Bogg stood staring at the screen and Jeff craned his neck over Bogg's arm to see it too.

"It's a code 2 recall," he paused, "first called 4 days ago, and just repeated."

"What does that mean?"

"It means were going to headquarters, hang on kid," and Jeff clutched Bogg's arm tightly as he hit the button.


	7. At Headquarters

**Chapter 7 At Headquarters**

They landed on a circular pad in a dark room. "This way," Bogg pointed to corner of the room and pushed Jeff's back so he would move in the right direction. As soon as they stepped off the pad, another Voyager fell from the sky and Jeff understood why Bogg had made him move so quickly. They each had to clear the area so the next Voyager could arrive.

The atmosphere was friendly, but tense, as the Voyagers greeted each other. When they greeted Phineas, they pointed to Jeffrey, who was introduced to so many of them that he knew he'd never remember them all. Despite the apparent seriousness of the situation, the other voyagers were cordial, and even friendly as Bogg introduced him as his partner.

"Let's start this gathering, shall we?" came a familiar voice, and Jeff saw Trevor Dillon climb up onto a stage with a podium. Everyone was immediately quiet. "When we met 3 days ago, I informed you that we had detected an unauthorized user inside the omni control system. None of the omni's we tested at that time showed signs of tampering, but I warned you to use extreme caution in the field." He paused and glanced at Phineas, then leaned down and whispered, "I need to see you as soon as I'm done."

Bogg nodded as Trevor continued.

"The access portal has finally been analyzed and the omni signature was verified. Voyager Drake appeared to gain a brief, unauthorized access to the system. The only glitch we've been able to find is that we lost the tracking on Voyager Bogg's omni for several days. Now that we have him here, we'll be analyzing his omni memory recorder to see if it holds any clues. We don't know what Drake might have done, but I wanted all of you to know the latest information. As always, we are continuing to track you all, and will retrieve you if there are any unusual occurrences. Until we have something more, that's all, except that we should be expecting Drake to try to disrupt the time stream." He climbed down and made his way toward Phineas.

"Phineas, where were you for the past 4 days?" Trevor asked.

Jeff and Phineas looked at each other, each thinking the same thing.

"Drake's out to get Bogg," Jeffrey blurted out, and reached up to squeeze Bogg's arm. "You have to protect him!" Jeff pleaded.

"Let's get your omni analyzed..."

Suddenly, and without warning, Phineas and Jeffrey disappeared.

Trevor Dillon reacted first. "This is a Code One, I want them tracked, and any other signals jammed. Everyone is on this, maximum effort, I want them back!" he shouted and every voyager present moved quickly toward the Control Room, ready for orders.


	8. The Crane

**Chapter 8 The Crane**

Again, the trip through the cosmos was very rough. They landed several feet apart, on flat open ground in front of a tall crane. It looked like a construction site. They both glanced around quickly as they sat up.

"Drake did this," Phineas said as they stood up. "We need to find cover."

Jeff turned slightly as something fast-moving caught his eye. The crane hook had somehow come lose and was falling very fast, right toward Bogg.

"Bogg," Jeff yelled as he rushed forward, and threw himself at his partner. Phineas turned toward Jeff just as the boy's full weight landed against his chest, sending him falling backwards onto the sand. The flat side of the hook caught Jeffrey's shoulder, raising him into the air and spinning him around before he landed on the ground a few feet away.

The silence was eerie as Phineas sat up and took in the scene. He could still hear the woosh of the hook as it rushed past his ear, very close. Jeffrey was lying very still, a few feet away. "Oh my God, Jeff," he whispered. He moved to Jeff's side as quickly as he could, fighting panic, and just as he reached him, he heard that same whooshing sound again and watched the hook swing back past them. He leaned over Jeffrey and touched his face.

"Jeff?" he whispered, in shock. He put his shaking hand next to Jeffrey's mouth and felt a little air movement, then closed his eyes in relief. "Jeff," he said aloud, but to himself he was chanting a litany, 'please be okay, oh God, please be okay'.

After a few seconds, his Voyager training took over and he looked up, taking in their surroundings. They were completely alone, so how could that hook have come loose and swung in just the right arc toward him? No one was attacking them, could it have been a freak accident? There was only silence to answer him. A silence made much worse by Jeffrey's lying so still.

He was afraid to touch him, he didn't know where he might be injured. His mind a blank, he gave his full attention to the child he had grown to love so much.

Jeff lay on his back, his head to the side and his arms outstretched. Nothing looked broken, not obviously anyway. Phineas put his hand on Jeffrey's chest and whispered, "please kid."

After a moment that seemed like an eternity, Jeffrey moaned and moved his head.

Phineas leaned over him and spoke in a comforting voice that broke as he said the words, "Jeff, can you hear me?"

"Bogg?" Jeff said softly as lifted his hand and moved it toward his friend.

"I'm here, just lay still." Phineas reached for Jeffrey's hand and held it, easing it back down to rest onto his stomach. "Don't move around just yet, okay?"

"Uhh," Jeff groaned and finally opened his eyes.

"Where does it hurt?"

"My shoulder," Jeff whispered, but this time his voice was stronger. "I don't think it's too bad." He moved to sit up and Phineas supported him as he did.

Phineas left his arms around the kid worriedly as he sat up. "You sure you can sit up?"

Jeff saw Bogg's worried face, and the tears in his eyes. He nodded and his voice shook when he spoke, "I think it just," he swallowed and took a cautious breath, "knocked the air out of me."

Phineas wiped his eyes with one hand, leaving the other around Jeff's back. "Okay, let's move your arm a bit and see about that shoulder," he said and sniffed.


	9. Driven Again

**Chapter 9: Driven **

As soon as Jeff seemed able to stand, Phineas had them move into the woods. He'd tried to carry Jeff, but the kid would have none of that. As they sat and talked, Phineas kept one hand on the kid, more to reassure himself than to help Jeff. The boy seemed to have recovered, though the back of his shoulder was very swollen and quickly turning black and blue.

"I don't think this was an accident Bogg, I mean, how often would a hook like that come loose? Whoever was the last one to work on that crane would've had to secure it. I think someone unlatched it and then got out of there fast, as in omnied out. This is Drake's work."

They had been talking for the past 15 minutes and had pieced together this theory, which seemed the most plausible.

"I think he's trying to kill you, Bogg," Jeff continued and Bogg felt him shaking underneath his hand. "We know he hates you."

"Come here," Phineas said and gently pulled Jeff into a hug.

Jeffrey let himself be pulled in and settled into Bogg's chest and they sat together in silence.

"You saved my life," Bogg finally said and Jeff smiled, enjoying the warmth. "We have to decide what to do now."

"He's controlling the omni," Jeff said.

"You're right."

"He sent us into that epidemic too."

"Yeah. Apparently he can send us where he wants, and he wants us in danger."

"Do you think headquarters is looking for us?"

"Absolutely."

"What should we do?" Jeff asked.

"Something he doesn't expect," was Bogg's immediate answer.

"But what?" Jeff asked.

Phineas put his hand on Jeff's uninjured shoulder and squeezed, "well, we can't depend on the omni any more, so we'll just have to depend on each other."

"But, what do we do?" Jeff asked again.

"We let him send the omni on its way and we find someplace safe."

"But he'll know we stayed here as soon as the omni lands, you know he'll be there, wherever he sends it," then his voice changed to a whisper, "ready to ambush us."

Phineas slowly took off his belt, deep in thought. Jeff watched him wrap it tightly around the omni as he hinged up a small panel in the back. He caught the belt under the edge of the panel, holding it open a crack and wrapped the rest of the belt tightly around the device, to hold the panel in place.

"What's that about?" Jeff asked once the knot was secured.

"It's an offset, the omni will land a quarter mile west of where he sends it. I hope it'll surprise him and give us some time," Phineas answered and placed the omni on the ground, then backed away from it. "Let's get moving."

"Do we really want to leave the omni?" Jeff asked as Phineas hurried him through the woods.

"You said it yourself, somehow, he's controlling it. And until we've got control back, I don't want anything to do with it. We'll head towards some kind of shelter and get lost there until Headquarters finds us. Remember the voyager locator Susan found us with after the trial?" As Bogg said this, he scanned the area, and began moving quickly, deeper into the woods.

Jeff's jaw dropped open, "yeah, okay," he managed to say. He moved quickly to keep up, thinking that once again his partner seemed driven. Until they'd landed in the smallpox epidemic, he'd never seen Bogg like this. Usually, he was lighthearted, no matter what happened to them. But now, he seemed just as driven as he had when he made Jeff go to the farm.

Jeff rubbed his arm, where the knife had scratched him and thought about how Bogg had given him the cowpox. At the time he'd thought he could never forgive him, but now, things seemed different. Now he was worried about Bogg's safety. If Drake was really out to kill him, someone had to watch his back. Jeff vowed to himself to keep his eyes open and do just that, because at the moment his partner seemed distracted and focused on only one thing, getting them away from here and he was not interested in discussion. Jeff glanced around as he followed, but the area seemed safe, at least for the time being.

He followed Bogg until they came to a river, then watched with astonishment as Bogg stepped into it and began walking downstream.

"Why are you walking in the river?" Jeff asked and Phineas finally stopped and stared at him.

"How's your shoulder?" he asked.

"It hurts, not bad."

"Can you breath okay? Is it hard to keep up?"

"I'm fine, it's fine."

Phineas finally smiled as he looked at Jeff. "Good, we'll be harder to track if we walk in the river. Come on," and he started downstream.

They kept a steady pace as they walked along the river, each lost in thought.

Bogg continued to move quickly. He was keenly aware that Drake would be tracking them, and it was obvious his intent was deadly. He wasn't only trying to kill Phineas, he had sent them into that epidemic to kill Jeffrey. And that crane hook might have been aiming for him, but Jeff had been the one injured. When that happened, Phineas had had an epiphany. He wasn't about to let Jeffrey get hurt, or worse. In his life as a Voyager, this was as serious as it had ever been. They were being hunted, and Drake was trying to kill them.

After a half-hour, they came to a cluster of houses, and Bogg moved to the side of the river to watch the area. There didn't seem to be many people around. As he watched, he saw a man wearing jeans and a flannel shirt exit one of the homes. He walked to a pickup truck and drove away.

"Come on," Bogg whispered as he climbed out of the river and led the way around the back of the house to the rear door. Jeff watched in surprise as his partner picked the lock and entered. "Wait here," he whispered to Jeff.

"Bogg, since when do we break into peoples homes?" Jeff asked as he watched Bogg cross the living room and pick the lock on a gun cabinet.

Jeffrey's eyes narrowed, this didn't make sense. He watched as Bogg selected a rifle and put a few bullets into his pocket. Then he walked into the kitchen, emptied a backpack that sat on a chair, and filled it with food from the refrigerator. As Bogg left the building, Jeff put his hand on his arm. "Do you really want a gun?" he asked seriously.

"Come on," was Bogg's only response as he led they way into the forest. Once they were deep enough in the woods so they couldn't be seen, Phineas turned to Jeff. "No, I don't want a gun."

"But," Jeff paused, "this isn't like you."

"Things have changed now."

"How? Why?" Jeff asked, trying to understand.

"Drake almost killed you... twice, and I'm not gonna let that happen... ever. If he tries again, I want to be able to defend us."

Jeff froze, suddenly realizing that Bogg was trying to protect him. "Okay," he whispered, and in spite of the situation, he felt safe.

Bogg smiled at Jeff, and put his hand out to touch his arm. "The worst thing about guns is that if someone takes your gun, they can kill you with it. That's why I only took 2 bullets."

"Why not just one?"

"One spare if I miss."

Jeff paused, Bogg was talking as though he might actually kill Drake.

"If we're lucky, this'll just be like a camping trip, and Drake will never find us." Bogg didn't really believe it, but he wanted to ease Jeff's fears.


	10. Crossing the Line

**Chapter 10: Crossing the Line**

Drake and Wilson stood in the cab of the tall crane and watched Phineas Bogg and the boy as they stood on the sand. Wilson located the Safety switch that was used to secure the cable of the crane, but when Drake gave the signal, he hesitated, and Drake pushed him aside. He flipped the switch to unlatch the hook. They stayed only long enough to see the boy push Bogg out of the way. Drake was scowling as they disappeared.

"What was that about!" Drake yelled at his companion after they landed back at his laboratory. Wilson looked at the floor, trying to think of some plausible excuse for his hesitation. "Well?"

"I got a cramp," he said lamely, "it won't happen again."

"A cramp? Do you think I'm an idiot?"

"Of course not," Wilson whispered. To himself, he thought _"but you are crazy."_

Drake stared at him, his anger plain to see. Finally he spoke. "We are changing plans," he said, and Wilson looked up, dreading what the change would be.

"That boy should have died of smallpox, and Bogg shouldn't be alive right now! Something always happens to save them." He paused, "as of this minute, we will attack both of them, at the same time. You will take down the boy," he said, "and no hesitation next time. I'll take care of Bogg. And if we're lucky enough to kill them both at the same time, all the better."

"Killing wasn't supposed to be part of the plan," Wilson spoke hesitatingly, "and he's a kid." He finally felt he had to speak. He knew disloyalty would get him nowhere, but killing was crossing the line, and killing a child was unconscionable.

"He's as crafty and evil as the full grown voyager he will become in 4 short years if we don't get rid of him. You saw how he pushed Bogg away from that hook, didn't you?" Drake's expression had a strange, desperate look to it. "Maybe you don't remember why you are here with me?" he asked, and Wilson looked at the floor again.

Yes, Wilson had seen the kid push Bogg out of the way, but his reaction had been one of awe, not of anger. And yes, he did remember why he was with Drake.

It seemed like it had happened so long ago, but it had been just about a year. He'd been guilty of stealing the omni of another voyager. It had been a bad decision, made while he was drunk, and though he'd never done anything with it himself, he'd sold it to Drake to frame the voyager with. Then when Wilson had been brought up on charges for stealing, Drake had dropped them in exchange for his services. Since Drake had been on the run, Wilson had kept his job at headquarters and helped him by passing certain information to him when he'd been asked. Each task he'd done at Drake's request had been a bit more serious, until now he was being asked to kill a child, or be exposed to the Tribunal, where he knew his punishment would most likely be banishment. Especially since he was guilty of so many additional violations over the past year.

"Well, do you remember?" Drake asked again, this time in a louder voice.

"I remember," Wilson told him in a firm voice, and he could tell that Drake was satisfied.

"I'll send them along now, according to plan. The next stop will be even more dangerous."

Drake set the dials on his machine and pressed the button. Then he and Wilson disappeared together to intercept his prey.

They appeared in a small village. Wilson followed Drake as he ducked into an alley and scanned the area for Bogg and the boy. When he didn't see them, he spoke, "go out into the square and find them."

Wilson spotted some clothing that had been set to dry on the branches of a nearby tree and when suitably attired, walked out into the square. Drake watched as he mingled with the peasants. He became more annoyed as the minutes went by, and finally entered the square himself. Once around the general area convinced him they weren't there, and he stood, deep in thought as Mt Vesuvius rumbled and belched a huge cloud of steam.

"What have you done Bogg?" Drake asked the empty air as he looked around. He thought back over his control device. He was fairly confident in his device's ability to control Bogg's omni, and to deactivate it, but he hadn't done many tests. The man must have done something to the omni that he wouldn't have anticipated, but what? As he stood thinking, the mountain rumbled again loudly. If he wanted to be sure they would die here, he would have to find them. He had to figure out what Bogg had done. He took the Omni Locator he had fashioned for himself out of his pocket and turned it on.

"An offset, of course," he said and started walking west.


	11. Hunted

**Chapter 11: Hunted **

They headed for high ground. Phineas wanted a place he could watch from, to see if they were being tracked. As they headed up the third steep section of the trail, Phineas noticed that Jeff was having trouble keeping up. He slowed his pace, and turned to help him over a fallen tree that blocked the trail, but when he saw Jeff he put his hand out to stop him from starting over the tree. Jeff looked sick. He was very pale, and drenched in sweat. "Stop for a minute," he whispered.

Jeff looked up at him for a second, then slowly bent down and sat on the trail. Bogg watched him worriedly.

"You don't look so good kid," he whispered and put his hand on Jeff's head so he could look better into the boys eyes.

"I feel sick again," Jeff whispered.

Phineas mentally kicked himself. It made sense. Jeff had barely recovered from the cowpox when they were called back to headquarters. He squatted down beside Jeff, "how's the shoulder?"

Jeff leaned his head against the tree and closed his eyes, "it hurts too."

"Too?"

Jeff rubbed his right eye hard, "my head is pounding."

Phineas glanced around, they couldn't stay here, the trail was too steep and exposed. Before he could think further, Jeff was standing up again and clambering his way over the tree trunk. Phineas reached out and helped him.

The trail soon flattened out and they reached an area where they could look down on the town and river.

"You must think Drake can track like an Indian," Jeff observed as he stretched out on the flat rock and closed his eyes.

"I know he can," was Bogg's unsettling reply.

Jeff moved his hand up to his shoulder, trying to ease the pain from the injury. He was exhausted. He shivered as another chill caught hold of him, and curled up on his side.

Phineas glanced over, and saw that his eyes were closed. It was just as well, this was a good place to stop and rest. He intended to keep watch here for as long as it took for headquarters to find them. He didn't think Jeff could make it much further, at least not at the moment, and this was a good spot.

Three hours later, Phineas watched Drake and Wilson walk along the riverbank toward the cluster of houses. Wilson carried a rifle. He touched Jeffrey's arm and whispered, "wake up, time to go," motioning him away from the crest of the hill.

"What is it?"

"Drake's made it to the houses, we have to move. How's your shoulder?"

"Drake's here?" He hadn't really believed that anyone could track them.

"Yeah, do you feel strong enough to climb some more?" He had surveyed the area and given their situation a lot of thought while he waited to see if Drake was tracking them. The area was very rocky, and if Jeff had difficulty climbing it would be harder to escape their pursuers.

"I'll try," Jeff answered stoically, but Bogg could tell he was in pain and felt sick as well. He was still pale and moved stiffly, keeping his arm close to his side.

"Okay," and they climbed toward an even higher area.

Once there, Bogg knew they wouldn't be moving again. Jeff had followed him slowly, and though he hadn't complained, it was easy to see that he was having difficulty keeping up. He'd considered carrying him before, but it would be impractical over such rough terrain. He would have to travel much too slowly. This was where they would have to take a stand.

An hour later, they stood as close to the edge of the cliff as they could without being seen from below and watched as Drake and the other man approached the spot below them where they had so recently rested.

"What're you doing?" Jeff whispered in shock as Phineas raised the rifle and took careful aim. Instead of answering Jeffrey, he squeezed the trigger.

As the shot rang out, Jeff saw the silver omni fly out of Drake's hand and land on a rock a few feet from the edge of the cliff.

Almost immediately, Drake spun around and Bogg pulled the trigger again. A split second later, Drake pulled a revolver from a holster under his shoulder. Both shots were squeezed off in quick succession and Jeff watched as Bogg's bullet hit the silver omni, knocking it into the air and over the edge of the cliff.

"Ugh."

The sound was soft, and Jeff felt panic as he turned to his friend and watched a spot of blood appear on Bogg's upper arm and spread down his shirt. "No, Bogg!" Jeff pleaded in panic as he moved toward him.

Phineas gasped and flinched as he held the spot tightly with one hand.

"I've got it," Jeff whispered as he began applying direct pressure to the wound as best he could. "We've gotta get away from here."

And then it happened.

A leaf crunched.


	12. The Capture

**Chapter 12 The Capture**

Bogg swung the rifle around with his left hand and the scene froze. Wilson stood a few feet away, his rifle trained on Bogg, and Bogg's rifle likewise, was aimed at Wilson's chest.

There was silence.

"Get away. Yeah, there's an idea," Wilson's voice had a hint of hopelessness to it.

The strange voice sent chills down Bogg's spine.

"Jeff, leave.. now," Bogg ordered.

"I can't let go of.."

"Drake wants you here, so get lost in these woods, go!" Jeff had never heard Bogg's voice like this before. He paused, a whirlwind of thoughts rushing through his mind. If he was in the woods, maybe he could help free Bogg, rather than having them both captured. But, leaving would be the hardest thing he'd ever done and he wavered.

Suddenly Jeff stood up and backed away from the two men, whose guns were leveled at each other, then turned and ran.

He took 2 steps before he saw Drake's gun, at point blank range, and stopped.

"A deserter, huh?" Drake mocked him. "I always had you pegged that way," and he motioned with the gun, toward Bogg and Wilson, "get back."

"Well done Wilson," Drake said as he moved beside the man. "Put the gun down, Bogg."

He waited, but nobody moved.

"He won't put it down," Wilson whispered, his gun still aimed at Bogg's chest.

"Put the gun down or I kill the boy," Drake threatened, moving his revolver to emphasize that it was pointing directly at Jeffrey.

Bogg immediately lowered the rifle.

"That's how it's done Wilson. You don't aim the gun at Bogg. It's the kid he cares more about than himself." Then, Drake turned his whole focus back to Jeffrey and whispered, "I've been waiting a long time to do this," and he aimed more purposefully. As Jeff's eyes widened in shock, he squeezed the trigger.

Phineas lunged toward Jeffrey, but he knew he was too late. He saw a blur to his right as Wilson swung his rifle upward and struck Drake's hand from below just as he squeezed the trigger, sending the bullet into the trees.

Phineas pushed Jeff to the side, and grunted one word, "run!" as he turned to attack Drake. But the man was already sprawled in the dirt, face down, and Wilson was kneeling on his back, a rope in his hand.

Wilson had jammed the butt end of his rifle squarely into Drake's face after hitting his gun hand. From behind Bogg, Jeff watched Drake fall, stunned by the unexpected blow. Then Wilson quickly rolled Drake over and tied first his wrists and then his ankles together, faster than he thought possible. Jeff watched in shock, until he finally looked up at Bogg, and noticed how much he was sweating and how hard he was breathing.

No one said a word as Wilson finished tying Drake up and then stood up to face them.

"You can put the gun down now," he said to Bogg, who still held the rifle in his left hand, pointed at Wilson again.

Bogg didn't move. He felt a wave of heat wash over him, and shifted unsteadily, hoping he could remain standing. He wasn't sure what had happened, but he still wasn't ready to trust the stranger.

Wilson ignored the rifle Bogg had trained on him, and bent to pick up the Colt 45 he had knocked out of Drake's hand. At the same time, Jeff moved quickly to the knapsack and emptied the fruit out of a cloth bag and returned to wrap it around Bogg's right arm. His partner winced as a wave of pain traveled out from his arm, but Jeff kept a tight hold over the wound as he wrapped the bag and the bleeding finally stopped.

"Freeze!" Phineas ordered, keeping the rifle trained on the man.

"I don't think you can make me," Wilson said, staring at Phineas as he put the Colt into his shoulder holster.

"Why not?"

Wilson stared at him, "I'm willing to bet that gun isn't loaded."

"You just saw me shoot the omni out of his hand," Bogg countered in a deadly voice.

"But I've heard about you, and training like ours is hard to ignore. One bullet to get the job done and a second if you miss. I bet you only had 2 bullets. You could've killed him and you didn't."

"What're you getting at?" Bogg asked, breathing hard. He could hear a soft buzzing sound.

"My gun's not loaded either. The bullets are in my pocket," Wilson told him.

As they stood in the heat, Bogg finally understood. He lowered the rifle and swayed slightly.

"I don't get it?" Jeff said looking from one to the other. Bogg was looking worse by the second.

"Voyagers don't shoot people," Wilson said.

The buzzing sound was louder and Bogg thought it was strange that Jeff didn't seem to notice it. Then it got dark.

Wilson and Jeffrey moved together to break his fall as Phineas' legs buckled under him.

"Bogg!" Jeff called out and watched Wilson catch him by the shoulders and ease him down, then take off his jacket and slide it under Bogg's head.

"He'll be okay kid," Wilson reassured him after giving the wound a cursory look. "But he'll need a doctor, and sooner rather than later." He pulled one of two omnis off his belt and handed it to Jeff. "Take em both back, and make sure they put him away," he moved his head in Drake's direction.

Jeff took the device in his left hand, afraid to release the pressure on Bogg's arm with his right. He stared at Wilson, trying to understand.

"I'll kill you Wilson!" Drake's voice cut through the quiet like a knife.

Jeff stared down at Bogg in shock, he was white, and soaked with sweat.

"Sure you will," Wilson said calmly.

"What about you? You're a Voyager, aren't you coming back too?" Jeff asked him.

"I can't go back," Wilson said quietly.

"And I'll kill Phineas Bogg too!" Drake's voice once again cut through the air.

"Jeff?" the voice was weak, but it made Jeff's heart soar.

"Just lay still, everything's okay," Jeff told him.

"I'll kill you all!"

"Doesn't sound okay."

Jeff smiled, "it is."

"Is there any water?"

Jeff helped him to drink and Phineas could feel himself recovering. He glanced around and took in the scene. Drake was trussed up, Jeffrey moved freely, and Wilson stood off to the side, staring at them all.

"I'll find his omni, they'll want it at Headquarters," Wilson said and was gone before either of them could answer.

"Do you think he'll come back?" Jeff finally asked his partner, wondering how long they should wait. He wanted to get Bogg to a doctor as soon as he could.

"He'll be back."

"How can you be so sure?"

"He's a Voyager. I don't know how he got into this whole thing with Drake, but, deep down, he's a Voyager."

"I'll kill you Bogg, so help me God!"

Jeff glanced at Drake, who was still laying on his stomach, wrists tied to his ankles. He didn't look dangerous, but Jeff still shivered at the sound of his voice.

"Ignore what he says, but watch him like a hawk," Bogg instructed, rolling onto his side so he could face Drake himself.

"The bleeding's stopped again," Jeff said and took his hand off the wound, "just keep your arm still."

A few moments later, they heard leaves crunching on the trail, and Wilson appeared.

"He eyed Bogg, "well, you look better."

"Thanks... for everything."

Wilson nodded, he glanced over at Drake, "just make sure he gets locked up. He's crazy, ... I mean really."

"Come back with us," Bogg said evenly.

Wilson shook his head, "I have no future, not after what I've done, Drake saw to that."

"What you've done is saved Jeff's life, ... and mine. And captured Drake."

Wilson paused, "I've done other things, you don't know..."

"Okay, look, I know you've done some things wrong, but you can face up to them now, and after it's over you can start with a clean slate. Saving us and capturing Drake has to balance out whatever else you did." Bogg paused, he could see that Wilson was considering what he said, so he continued, "and what kind of life will you have if you leave? You'll always be on the run. That's no life. And they'll catch you sooner or later, you know that."

Wilson exhaled loudly and shook his head. "I've worked for Drake, breaking rules for over a year!" he shouted, "they aren't going to forget that!"

"You saved our lives and captured Drake and they won't forget that either. Look, I'll swear to them that you could've killed us any time you wanted. I'll testify that you refused to hurt Jeff and then stopped Drake from killing him, and that you didn't even have any bullets in your gun. That shows who you really are."

"Yeah," Jeff added.

"We'll both swear to it," Phineas repeated.

"I don't know," Wilson said uncertainly and his thoughts suddenly flew to Katie. What would she think of all this? If he ran, he would never know. He would never see her again. If he went back, he would at least be able to find out what she thought of him. He doubted she would still be interested in him, but at least he'd know.

He stared at them. Bogg looked terrible, yet here he was, wasting time trying to convince him to go back. It would feel good to finally get things cleared up. And even if he lost his job and freedom for a while, the idea of running for the rest of his life was not appealing.

"Bogg, we need to leave," Jeff said loudly and forcefully. The conversation had lasted long enough, he needed to get Bogg some medical help.

Phineas looked at Jeff and whispered, "okay kid."

Jeff moved to his other side and held out his hand to Wilson, "I don't wanna touch Drake, will you grab him?"

Wilson sighed, giving in and moved over to touch Drake's ankle and Jeffrey's hand. "Whenever you're ready," he said dejectedly and watched as Jeff pushed the button on the omni.


	13. Voyager Medical

**Chapter 13 Voyager Medical**

They landed at headquarters, and were surrounded immediately.

Wilson felt the gun removed from his holster and his omni removed from his belt. His hands were pulled behind him and handcuffed. He felt strangely cheered as he heard Bogg explain what had happened. He was tired of sneaking around, getting everything out in the open would be difficult, but he thought he might be able to avoid being banished with Bogg's help.

"Drake got control of my omni and tried to kill Jeff and me," Bogg began. He glanced at Wilson and gave him a quick nod before continuing, "Wilson turned against Drake and risked his life to save us."

"Yeah, Wilson could've died," Jeff chimed in and a small smile briefly crossed Wilson's face.

Trevor Dillon stared at the three of them, then turned to the guards, "minimum security for him," he said indicating Wilson. "Level 1 security for Drake, and don't untie him until he's inside the cell. Take him on a gurney, with triple guards." He paused and then reached for the omni in Jeff's hand, "and analyze this omni, I want to know where they've been and how he got control."

"The future will judge me a hero!" Drake yelled out as the guards wheeled him out of the area.

"Bogg needs a doctor," Jeff said loudly, to get Dillon's attention as Wilson was led away.

"Already called," Dillon responded, and not 3 seconds later, a second gurney entered the area.

"I don't need.." Bogg started to say.

Dillon pushed him back so he was sitting on the stretcher and bent to lift his legs up onto it as he spoke, "yeah, yeah, I've heard it all before." Then he spoke to the medics, "get him to emergency."

Jeff smiled as he listened to Dillon deal with Bogg's refusal.

"Jeff's hurt too, and sick," Bogg announced and Jeff's smile faded as Dillon pointed to the end of the stretcher and Bogg moved his legs to make room.

"I can walk," Jeff started, but was interrupted as Dillon started toward him. "All right, all right," Jeff muttered as Dillon lifted him up to sit on the end of the stretcher.

As Phineas rested back on the stretcher and watched the walls of the room and corridor speed by, he relaxed so completely that he was startled when they asked him to move to the examining table in the emergency area of the Medical Center.

"Bogg first," Jeff said shaking his head when a nurse motioned him to follow her. "He lost a lot of blood."

"He's being seen right now," was the answer and Jeff turned and saw a team of workers already around Bogg's head and shoulders. The nurse pointed to a room not far away, "but I need you in here." Satisfied that his partner was being taken care of, Jeff turned and followed her through the door.

"Jeff needs to be seen," Bogg had said at about the same time.

"He's being seen now," the doctor answered him as everyone on the team worked to set up a sterile field so the wound could be exposed and assessed.

"This'll hurt for just a minute," a second doctor said, "then the pain should ease up."

Bogg took a breath and hoped he was right. Now that his adrenaline rush was over, the pain in his arm was severe. He felt dizzy, and then the sounds around him became muffled. He stared out into the empty half of the treatment room, wondering where Jeff was, barely aware that the blood vessels and muscles in his arm were being sewn back together.

When Jeff reappeared at his side, he smiled and tried to talk, but to his surprise he couldn't form any words. He could hear Jeff's voice, but couldn't seem to understand what he was saying. He stared at the kid thinking how thankful he was that Jeff was all right.

"Bogg? You okay?" Jeff asked as soon as he reached Bogg's side. His exam had taken about an hour, during which time he had demanded to know how Bogg was doing so many times that the nurse had promised to bring him back to his friend as soon as they were finished.

"They gave him medicine for pain and to relax his arm so they could stitch it up," she explained as she showed him where he could sit. "You have to stay on this side of the drape," she went on, motioning to the large blue cloth that separated Phineas' arm from every other part of him.

"Thanks," he answered and turned to Bogg. His eyes were dull, but he managed a faint smile. Jeff smiled back and reached up to squeeze his arm.

"That's it," the doctor finally said a short time later, and Jeff watched as they took the sheet away to reveal Bogg's arm with a large white bandage in place.

"Will he be all right?" Jeff asked as the doctor pulled off his gloves.

He hesitated, eyeing the boy.

"He's listed as family," one of the nurses announced to the room.

"It should heal fine. If it had bled much more we'd have to give him a blood transfusion, but I think he'll be okay without one. We'll watch for infection, and in the meantime, he'll need to rest. And from the story I heard, you should be lying down yourself."

With the news that Bogg would be okay, Jeff could feel his energy level suddenly plummet. After a moment, he whispered, "yeah," and looked around for a place to lay down. As if reading his mind, a nurse pulled the sheets down on a bed a few feet away and he headed for it thankfully.

"I'll make sure you stay close," she whispered conspiratorially as he lay down.

A half-hour later Phineas started to hear sounds in the room. "Jeff?" he said.

"Bogg! How do you feel?" Jeff asked from the bed, relief in his voice.

"Not too bad considering..." he looked toward the voice and saw Jeff lying nearby, "how 'bout you?"

"I'm fine, just happy to rest."

They lapsed into silence, until finally Jeffrey spoke again. "They said I was listed as your family."

"Yeah."

Jeff smiled to himself. "That was some pretty fancy shooting for someone who can't shoot a gun."

"I never said I couldn't shoot."

"You kind of let me think that though."

Phineas sighed, "I don't like guns."

"You shot the omni right out of his hand! And then hit it again so it went over the cliff!"

Bogg sighed again and smiled, "yeah, well, actually, I'm considered a Marksman."

"You never told me that!" Jeff declared. "We're supposed to be a family, how come you never told me?"

"I don't know, it just never came up I guess." Bogg stared at him and paused, "I lived a long time before I met you ya know," he defended himself, then grimaced as a wave of pain shot up his arm.

Jeff reached for the call cord tied to the bedrail and pushed the button so someone would know how much pain his partner was in.


	14. Something's Wrong

**Chapter 14 Something's Wrong**

The following day, after they had moved into a regular room and had had a good night's sleep, Jeff jumped out of bed and approached his friend. "How're you doing?"

"Better," Bogg answered, "I guess you're over the cowpox."

"Yep, I feel fine, and that's one fewer shot I have to get."

"Huh?"

"They're gonna to give me a whole bunch of immunizations while we're here," Jeff explained.

"They shoulda thought of that the last time."

"Yeah, the doctor said the same thing."

"Listen," Phineas began in a serious voice, and Jeff paused and looked at him. "I'm sorry I forced the cowpox on you." He paused, "I've seen people die of smallpox... I guess I was scared. I didn't think we could wait. I just don't want you to be scared of me. I'd never hurt you, please believe that." As he spoke, his voice got softer. He hoped the kid could forgive him.

Jeff stared at him, unsure what to say. He had hated Bogg at the time, and had even planned on leaving him when they got back to headquarters. But so much had happened since then that he just didn't feel that way any more.

"Remember when I woke up and we were in the lake?"

"Yeah."

"Nobody else would've sat all night in a lake, just because I was sick. I forgave you then."

"Thanks," Phineas said with a catch in his voice as Jeff leaned down to give him a hug.

When the breakfast trays were brought in, Jeff dug into his as though he hadn't eaten in a week, but Phineas just took a few bites and pushed the eggs around on his plate.

"You're not eating?" Jeff asked when he finished his meal and finally looked over at his mentor.

"I'm eating," Bogg lied and took another mouthful, but the truth was, his mind was filled with guilt and he just wasn't hungry. Jeff had forgiven him, and he felt relief at that, but there was more on his mind than that.

Jeff looked at him with concern and there was an awkward silence as he sat down beside the bed and stared at him. It had stretched out much too long when Jeffrey finally spoke. "Something's wrong," he said quietly, "is your arm really okay?"

"It's fine, well, it will be, don't worry," Bogg answered, forcing himself to smile. The kid was too perceptive, had always been that way.

"Well, something's wrong," Jeff persisted.

"I just need to think," Phineas finally told him.

"Think about what?" Jeff asked worriedly.

Phineas sighed. "I just need some time alone," he said finally.

"Oh." Jeff sat still, in shock for a few seconds. Bogg had never needed time like this before, at least he'd never said so. All Jeff wanted was to be with him, especially after all they'd been through.

Phineas looked up at the kid and realized he looked upset. He put his arm out and Jeff leaned forward and hugged him again, "it's okay, I just need some time." Phineas paused, "one of the therapy assistants is gonna give you a tour of headquarters."

Normally, Phineas knew this news would make Jeff happy, but now, he just left his head resting against Bogg's good shoulder and whispered "okay."

The knock at the door surprised them both and Jeff straightened up when a stranger walked in. His gray hair was short cropped and very thin on top and his eyes crinkled in the corners when he smiled at Jeff as he entered. "Can I come in?"

"Did you bring a tour guide?" Bogg asked.

"As requested," and he motioned to a young man who was trailing behind him. "How are you two doing?"

"Good," Bogg answered.

Jeff sighed and squared his shoulders as he walked toward the door. "I'll be back later."

After they left, the stranger walked in and sat down beside Phineas. "I'm Jack Skylar, one of the psychologists here," he said, "you asked to see someone?"

Bogg took a deep breath and sighed. "How much do you know about what happened to us?"

"Why don't you tell me what happened in your own words," Skylar answered, prepared to listen.

"Okay," Bogg answered quietly, and began talking. He explained Drake's past and how he had come to hunt them down. Then he tried to convey what his relationship was with Jeffrey, and what had happened when Drake finally caught up with them. As the last part of his story unfolded, his voice became unsteady and he had to stop several times before he could finish explaining what had happened.

After a silence, Skylar spoke, "okay, you've done a good job of setting the scene, now tell me why you wanted to see me?"

Phineas reached up and pushed tears out of his eyes before he spoke. "I let Drake walk up to Jeff with a loaded gun and pull the trigger." The anguish in his voice betrayed his distress more clearly than any words. "I had him in my sites, I could have put that bullet anywhere I wanted and I shot his omni ... twice."

"Voyagers don't shoot people, we instill that very thoroughly," Skylar said.

"Not in the time stream, no, but Drake's death wouldn't have changed history."

"You didn't know he had a gun at the time. The way you just described it to me sounds like it would've been more like a sniper attack. Could you live with it if you murdered him?"

"I'd rather live with that than without Jeff."

There was silence as Skylar pondered how to respond. "The only thing anyone can do is make every decision in the moment, the best they can. Anything else would be pre-meditated murder." He paused, "you only did what you were trained to do."

"I let him walk right past me and fire a gun at Jeff!" Phineas said again in anguish.

"But Jeffrey's alive, Phineas. You got him out of it."

"Wilson saved him, I tried but I wasn't fast enough."

They sat together for a few more minutes, then Skylar put his hand on Bogg's good shoulder and squeezed it. "I'll stop back in to see you tomorrow," he said as he stood up.


	15. The Tiniest Doubt

**Chapter 15 The Tiniest Doubt**

Two hours later Jeff returned and gave Phineas a quick hug. "They have a pool here," he said, "and I get to start swimming tomorrow... it's therapy. And look," he continued excitedly, holding up a box that said Lego Train System, "I had these back home! And they have a library here." As he spoke he held out a book.

"That sounds great kid," Phineas answered with a forced smile.

"Did you eat anything since I left?" Jeff asked, staring at Bogg.

Phineas shook his head and smiled again, "not so much, but we can eat lunch together, okay?"

The afternoon was quiet. As Jeff fiddled with the Legos on a table near the window, he kept an eye on Bogg, wondering what was wrong. Bogg was all he had, his only family and best friend, and Jeff desperately wanted to help him. Phineas lay down after lunch and immediately fell into a sound sleep.

"He's okay isn't he?" Jeff asked one of the nurses who peeked in to check on them sometime later.

She smiled and sat beside him to explain, "you need a little physical therapy to heal, but he needs sleep. Sleep is a good thing. Don't forget how much blood he lost. While he's asleep, his body is making lots of new blood cells."

Jeff smiled at her, happy to have a friendly face nearby. She was blonde, and pretty too, and he was sure Bogg would notice her as soon as he felt more like himself. "Thanks," he whispered as he watched her assemble an axle and two wheels.

After she left, a sudden thought struck him. Was Bogg acting this way because Jeff had slowed him down while Drake hunted them? He knew without a doubt that Bogg could have gotten away from Drake, or even captured him more easily, without getting shot, if Jeffrey hadn't been there. The only reason he'd been so easy to hunt was that Jeff couldn't keep up. As he thought about it, he realized that everything had happened because he couldn't keep up. He shifted position uncomfortably and looked over at his partner as he slept across the room. Was Bogg thinking that Jeff had been too much trouble? Was he trying to decide what to do with him? How to get rid of him?

The logical part of his brain fought back these fears. He'd been sick, that's why he'd been slow, it hadn't been his fault. No, he argued with himself, Bogg wouldn't have blamed him for that. He felt sure of it. Unfortunately though, now that the thought had entered his brain, the tiniest doubt seeped in and seemed to find a permanent spot in the back of his mind.

Two hours later Phineas woke up and they had dinner together. Neither one of them ate very much, nor spoke. They seemed to be in their own worlds.

Shortly after supper, Phineas lay back down on the bed. "Maybe we both need some extra sleep, I know I do," he said as he eyed the boy. He had noticed how quiet Jeff had been, but felt so exhausted that he couldn't bring himself to ask if anything was wrong. The kid was safe here at headquarters. He needed sleep and hoped that tomorrow things would seem better. He was sound asleep almost as soon as he lay down.

Jeffrey stared at him for a few minutes, then got up and took his book out into the hall so the light wouldn't disturb Bogg's sleep.

He settled down in a chair outside their room and opened the book, but what he heard next got his full attention. Several of the medical workers at the desk were chatting, and one of them mentioned Bogg's name.

"I know I'd feel that way," said a male voice. "I mean, it's gotta be a lot of responsibility. No wonder he wanted to see a shrink."

"You don't know that's why," this time it was a woman's voice.

"Oh come on, taking a kid on voyages is too much responsibility for anyone. It's gotta wear you down. Why else would an experienced voyager like Phineas Bogg be so messed up he needed to see a psychologist?"

Jeff quickly turned a page of the book and stared intently at it, but his whole mind was focused on the conversation behind the desk. There was a sudden silence and he moved only his eyes to the side and realized they had just discovered he was there. He turned another page of the book, and continued to stare intently at it, straining to hear their now hushed whispers.

"He doesn't need to keep the kid," the first voice said, but this time much quieter. "I'm sure someone here would look out for him."

"That would make his life a heck of a lot easier, that's for sure," said a different male voice.

After that they talked about other things, and it appeared that Jeff was reading intently. In reality however, his mind was in overdrive, thinking about what he had heard. That was a psychologist Bogg had apparently asked to talk to. And Jeff had to admit that it would be easier for Bogg if he left him here. But the worst thing of all was that Bogg hadn't talked to him. That meant this had to be something really big, and it was about him.

He rubbed his eyes and realized how tired he was, so he stood up and returned to the room. He lay down, but tired as he was, sleep didn't come easily. As he lay there, he couldn't help thinking that he should try to be as little trouble as possible.


	16. Wilson's Story

**Chapter 16 Wilson's Story**

The next morning, Skylar knocked on the door again and was followed in by Wilson and a therapist.

"Wilson!" Jeff said in a surprised tone and moved to give him a hug, "what're you doing here?"

"I need to talk to Phineas," Wilson answered.

"And we've got a date with the swimming pool," the therapist added, pointing to Jeff.

Jeff glanced back and forth between Bogg and his visitor. _"Convenient timing,"_ he thought cynically.

His expression must have betrayed his thoughts, because Bogg's next words were, "do it for me?"

How could he refuse that? "Yeah, I'll go," Jeff answered quietly, staring at the floor. He was dying to know the details of their discussion, but if it was about Bogg leaving him here, he didn't mind waiting.

Phineas narrowed his eyes as he glanced at the kid. He definitely didn't look right. He'd been unusually quiet since yesterday. He was about to ask what was wrong, when Jeff started walking toward the door. "Let's go," he said to the therapist.

After Jeffrey left, Wilson and Skylar sat down beside the bed.

"After I left you yesterday, I was scheduled to see Rick Wilson. While we were talking, I realized your stories overlapped a bit. I hope you don't mind that I shared your concerns with him."

Bogg stared at Wilson, "Rick, huh." Wilson nodded.

"Would you tell Phineas what you told me yesterday?" Skylar asked.

Wilson cleared his throat and began. "I made a huge mistake, and let Drake get me off instead of facing up to it. Then he threatened to expose me if I didn't help him. At first it was small things, but they got bigger, more serious. Pretty soon, I had done so much that he was blackmailing me into doing even worse. I got farther and farther away from being a Voyager. I'm not proud of it."

Here he stopped and looked down for a bit. "I may have lost track of what I was, but once I realized Drake was planning to kill you, I knew I couldn't cross that line, so I took the bullets out of my gun. I wasn't sure what was going to happen, but I knew I wasn't going to be the one to pull the trigger."

He took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. "But it wasn't until you shot the omni out of his hand, that I really understood how I felt. You could've killed Drake. Easy. And then, I would've run, and been hunted down and banished. But from the second your bullet hit that omni, I realized that deep down, I was still a Voyager and knew I had to save both of you from Drake. That's why I got to you first, so I could help you. That's why I didn't hesitate when he pointed his gun at the kid. I'd already made my decision. If you hadn't shot the omni, I would've had to decide when Drake was about to pull the trigger, and I'm ashamed to admit it, but, I might not have reacted fast enough."

Skylar held up his hand for Rick to stop, then allowed the silence to stretch out for several minutes.

Finally Phineas looked at him, "some treatment," he whispered.

"You didn't know it, but when you chose not to kill Drake, you not only saved Jeff's life, but Rick's too," Skylar said. "And you taught Jeff that Voyagers don't kill, in a way he'll never forget. He knows you could have put that bullet anywhere. He's not stupid."

"Oh, I know that," Bogg answered.

"He's worried about you. I can see it in his body language."

"Yeah, I'll talk to him," here Bogg turned his gaze toward Wilson, "thanks."

The man nodded.

"What's happening with your trial?"

"I don't know yet. I made my confession. They have to weigh all the evidence. My attorney will let me know if there will even be a trial."

"Well, that's all the time I have right now," Skylar said as he stood up, "I'll stop in tomorrow."

"Skylar?" Bogg said, and the therapist paused at the door and looked back at the Voyager, "you're some therapist."

"I have my moments," Skylar replied.


	17. Sorting Things Out

**Chapter 17 Sorting Things Out**

When Jeff returned from therapy, he moved toward the table and sat down facing the closed box of Legos.

Phineas watched him with concern. "Hey, you okay?" he asked.

Jeff nodded, not wanting to speak.

"Come here," Phineas said as he reached out his left arm toward the boy. Jeff moved to the side of the bed. "You don't look happy."

Jeff looked at the floor, "I'm okay," he whispered.

"Do you still feel sick? You can tell me."

Jeff glanced away, took a deep breath, and then suddenly turned toward Bogg.

"I don't wanna leave you," he answered in a shaking voice.

Bogg's jaw opened. "What? Who said you were leaving? What're they telling you?" he said in a shocked voice.

Jeff spoke very fast, "you wouldn't talk to me, and it's my fault you got shot, and I know I couldn't keep up when Drake was ..."

"Hold on, stop," Phineas interrupted him. "There is no way anyone is taking you away from me, so get that out of your head right now!" he said loudly. "Who told you that? I'll give them a talking to they won't forget!"

Jeff felt the knot in his stomach loosen.

Bogg paused and stared at his partner. "How could you believe anything was your fault?"

"Then why wouldn't you talk to me?" Jeff asked.

Phineas paused, "I had some things to sort out," he whispered.

"About me?"

"Not about separating, that's for sure."

Jeff finally smiled and leaned down to hug his partner.

Phineas pulled him closer with his left arm. "I didn't do a very good job of protecting you. That's what I've been thinking about," he whispered as Jeff sat back up.

"No one could've done better Bogg."

Phineas shook his head, "When Drake's gun went off... I almost died inside... I did the best I could... and it wasn't good enough."

"But I'm okay."

"Not because of me."

Jeff paused, "I'm a lot safer with you, than without you."

Their eyes met, "maybe," Bogg conceded.

"Definitely."

Phineas sighed, "why don't you let me get some more sleep."

Jeff nodded and moved off the edge of the bed and back to the table. This time he opened the box of Legos and reached for the partially assembled locomotive he'd been working on. It had been stupid of him to think Bogg was planning on getting rid of him. How could he have thought it was possible, even likely? He shook his head and smiled. Nothing could break them up, they were a family and Bogg would always be there, trying his best to protect him.


	18. Bogg's Protector

**Chapter 18** ** Bogg's Protector**

Phineas sighed and closed his eyes. He was still fighting exhaustion from such a massive loss of blood and wasn't used to feeling so tired.

He had just drifted off when a knock on the door caused him to jerk awake.

"Phineas Bogg?" a male voice asked.

"Yeah," Bogg answered, and the man walked toward the bed holding out an envelope.

"You'll need to sign for this," he said.

Bogg took the pen and signed his name, then ripped open the envelope as the man left. Jeff watched curiously as his partner read the letter.

Phineas read the short notice through twice, then folded it up and placed it on the table beside the bed.

"What was that?" Jeff asked.

"Nothing you need to worry about."

"Is it something you need to worry about?"

"Not today kid. Go on back to your game so I can get some sleep."

"But.."

"Would I be able to sleep if something was wrong?"

"Depends on how tired you were," Jeff answered sarcastically.

"Don't you ever give that smart mouth a rest?"

Jeff rolled his eyes. "Go to sleep then," he said resignedly.

"Thank you," and before another few minutes had passed, Jeff was sure his partner was asleep.

He eyed the letter where it sat on the table beside the bed. Bogg hadn't said not to read it, only that he shouldn't be worried about it. He turned back to the Legos, but his eyes and mind were repeatedly pulled back to the letter. What if there was something private in it that Bogg didn't want him to see? If he read it, he would feel terrible. On the other hand, it looked official, and they had both just finished a very difficult mission. Didn't he have a right to know what was being sent to his partner?

He stared at the letter, biting his lip, arguing with himself, for about ten minutes before he walked over and opened it. As he read it, he felt his temper flare. Bogg was being summoned to a disciplinary hearing because he exposed Jeffrey to the cowpox virus. They had examined the omni memory recorder and were accusing him of intentionally harming Jeff, not only with the virus, but by cutting his arm and risking infection when they were stranded in a time without antibiotics.

Jeffrey's mind immediately raced off in several directions, the first was that if they found him guilty, they might separate them. The second was that it was unfair to Bogg, who was an excellent voyager. The hearing was scheduled for tomorrow afternoon, and it wasn't fair to make Bogg go across the compound to the hearing room when he hadn't recovered yet either. He could barely stay awake for three hours at a time, and that was when he stayed in their room.

And how was Bogg supposed to defend himself in his condition? When Drake brought him to trial, he'd just tried to defend himself the best he could, and Jeff could see him decide to take that same approach again. But, the last trial hadn't gone so well with that approach, and Jeff thought this one was more serious. The elders on the Tribunal had brought the charges, and that meant they felt they were justified. It seemed to Jeff like the judgement had already been made.

He sat holding the letter and thinking. Finally he stood up, wrote a quick note to Bogg so he wouldn't worry when he woke up, and headed out the door to look for Susan.

ooOoo

Jeffrey found Susan's office without much difficulty. He knocked and was allowed in immediately. Susan listened intently as he explained the situation. When he finished, she finally spoke.

"Jeff, I'm sorry but I'm on my way out right now. I've got another case." She paused and stared at the boy. "You know, our laws say that anyone can speak as a defender at a hearing, or even a trial."

"You mean me? I can't do it!"

Susan shrugged, "everything you need is right here, in the books around you. I can give you some ideas and show you how to look things up before I go."

Jeff glanced around the room. Bookcases lined all four walls of the office. "Do Field Workers have any rights? Because it doesn't seem to me that Bogg's being treated very fairly."

Susan smiled and took out a sheet of paper. "Let me outline a few basic facts and concepts for you, and then I'll show you how to use this library."

ooOoo

Phineas woke up to a darkened room. It was 9pm and Jeff wasn't there. He turned on the light and saw the note.

_Bogg, I'm with Susan and will be back very late. Jeff_

He sighed. It was just as well, the kid had so much energy, it was good for him to stay busy. He reached over and picked up the official letter and read it again.

_To Voyager Phineas Bogg.  
><em>

_You are required to appear at a disciplinary hearing tomorrow afternoon regarding cowpox virus exposure._

_Charges: _

_Intentionally injuring a fellow Voyager, risking infection, while stranded in a dangerous time zone. _

_Intentionally injuring a child. _

_Intentionally causing illness in a fellow voyager. _

_Misuse of the power of your position._

_._

_Failure to appear will be considered admission of guilt.  
><em>

_Counselor Brindle_

Surely the Tribunal would be fair, wouldn't they? They would understand that he'd had no choice. Giving Jeff the cowpox had been the only way to be sure he'd be immune to smallpox. He would just explain what had happened the best he could.

Unfortunately these thoughts didn't make him feel very confident.

Shortly after midnight, Jeffrey opened the door and quietly entered the room. He paused to look at his partner before moving to the other bed. In the morning, one of the nurses woke him early and he wrote Bogg another note before he left again. He was long gone before Bogg woke up.

Phineas awoke feeling much stronger and more awake than he had since his injury. He read Jeff's new note with interest.

_Bogg,  
>Sorry I missed you. I got back late and left early. I'll be back for lunch.<br>Jeff_

He wondered what could keep Jeff's interest for so long a time. After breakfast, he paced around the room, bored for the first time since their arrival. Finally he went out into the hall and saw a pretty blond nurse writing in a chart at the desk. His eyes lit up as he approached her.

"Hi."

She looked up and smiled at him.

"You wouldn't happen to know where my kid is, would you?" he asked.

"Well, Voyager Bogg, you're looking much better."

"Thanks, what about Jeff?"

"Well, word on the street is that he got in after midnight and asked to be woken up before breakfast. He said he's seeing an attorney named Susan."

"About?"

She shook her head, "he wouldn't say."

"So you just let him leave?"

"He wasn't about to stay here. He was pretty intent on leaving."

"But he's just a kid."

"This isn't a prison you know." She smiled at him, touched by his concern for the boy. "I'm sure he's okay."

Phineas sighed, "yeah, I guess so." He would just have to wait for Jeff to get back.

True to his word, Jeff returned at noon, just as lunch was being served.

"Where have you been? What have you been doing? Don't keep me in the dark kid," Phineas asked as soon as he saw him.

Jeff paused, "I know about the hearing. I've been looking for a way to defend you."

"I thought I told you not to worry about it," Phineas said with irritation, "and you shouldn't read my mail!"

"Well, you weren't gonna tell me," Jeff shot back, his temper flaring.

"I didn't have a chance to, I haven't seen you since yesterday!"

There was silence and they both started to eat. Finally, Jeff spoke quietly, "you look better today."

"I feel better," Phineas answered in a friendly tone.

After the meal, they left together for the courtroom.

ooOoo

The room was set up like it had been for the trial. Counselor Garth brought the gavel down to call the room to order. As he began to speak, Jeffrey stood up.

"What're you doing?" Bogg whispered.

Jeff ignored his partner and addressed the Tribunal. "I'd like to invoke the Formal Proceedings," he said.

"Those rules haven't been used in years, there's no reason to delay this hearing," Brindle responded forcefully.

"They're still in the law books."

The elders glanced at each other and Garth gave a hint of a smile. "You have that right, if Voyager Bogg agrees."

All eyes shifted to Phineas and he glanced at Jeff in surprise. Jeff nodded to him, then he spoke to the Tribunal, "I agree."

Garth tapped the gavel, "we'll take a short recess while I gather the document."

Jeff sat down beside Bogg and smiled.

"You really have a plan?" Bogg whispered.

"Trust me."

Several minutes later, Garth returned to the bench and tapped the gavel again and cleared his throat. "This Formal Proceedings Hearing is now in session. Tribunal members are as follows: The first Tribunal member is Horatio Garth, Counselor 1st Degree. Do you have any questions?"

"No," Jeff responded.

"This is a ridiculous waste of time," Brindle said aloud.

Garth raised the script again. "The second Tribunal member is Mary Brindle, Counselor 1st Degree. Do you have any questions?"

"Yes." was Jeff's quick response and everyone in the room sat more upright.

"What could you want to ask me?" Brindle said with a note of contempt in her voice.

"When was your last documented Voyage as a Field Worker?" Jeff asked.

"My... why would you care about that?"

Jeff stared at her, "please answer the question."

"I'm not sure."

"Have you ever been a Field Worker?"

There was silence until Garth cleared his throat. He decided to help the kid along. "Why do you want to know this?"

"Because Bogg has a right to have his Field Work responsibilities judged by a Tribunal composed of his peers. And a peer is defined as..."

"We know what a peer is defined as!" hissed Brindle. "I'll step down, but I won't leave."

"Thank you," Jeff said.

Phineas glanced from Jeff to each of the others in the room and couldn't help but smile. Everyone was looking intently at Jeff.

Garth cleared his throat again and raised the paper. "The third Tribunal member is John Kane. Do you have any questions?"

"Yes."

"I was a Field Worker for 15 years and last Voyaged as a Field Worker 4 years ago," Kane responded without prompting.

"Any other questions?"

Jeff paused, "no, we accept him."

"You seem to be one Tribunal member short," Brindle announced from her seat in the spectator area.

"Have you another person in mind?" Garth asked.

"Yes sir. Last night I asked Trevor Dillon to sit on the Tribunal and he agreed. Can we contact him?"

Garth sat back and eyed the child before him. Jeff exchanged glances with Phineas and smiled.

"He will be summoned. We will recess until he joins us, no one is to leave the area."

Jeff went immediately to Phineas and slid onto the seat beside him.

"Kid, you're doing great!"

"Thanks. All we need is a two thirds vote in your favor to win."

"I can't believe you're doing all this."

The rear door of the hearing room opened as Trevor Dillon walked through and almost immediately Garth's gavel fell, calling the room to order again.

Dillon winked at Jeff as he took his place with the Tribunal and Garth continued reading from the Formal Proceedings script.

ooOoo

The charges were presented next, and Jeffrey made sure that Phineas got to respond to them from a seated position. He was able to explain what happened in full, without being interrupted. After he finished, Garth spoke again.

"Is there any other evidence?"

"Yes," Jeff said immediately, "I have similar cases for you to review while you deliberate," and he walked forward and handed each Tribunal member a folder.

"This is ridiculous," Brindle said loudly. "Where could you possibly have gotten this kind of information? Voyager Bogg couldn't have taught you to do this."

Jeff shrugged, "Well, he kind of did, actually."

At this remark, Phineas' eye widened in surprise. He couldn't fathom where the kid was going with this.

"He couldn't possibly have taught you anything like this," Brindle persisted.

"I guess I taught myself then."

"You would need access to information and he couldn't possibly have given you that!"

"He didn't give me access, Susan did, but you still don't get it. I ...taught ...myself."

"Then what did Voyager Bogg have to do with it?"

Jeff paused and looked Brindle in the eye, "he loves me," Jeff told her seriously.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Because of that, I taught it to myself." He paused, "and as far as what he HAS taught me, I'll tell you what he taught me. Voyagers don't kill people. That's one thing, and there's about a billion other things too."


	19. Brilliance

**Chapter 19 Brilliance**

As Jeffrey and Councilor Brindle stared intently at each other, Phineas thought he could feel the hostile vibrations in the air.

"Hey," he said to break the tension.

"We'll retire now to deliberate," Garth said and tapped the gavel. The hearing is adjourned Councilor," his words were addressed to Mary Brindle, who pulled her gaze away from the boy, as he glanced toward Bogg.

As the Tribunal members left the courtroom, Jeff concentrated on his arguments, mentally noting where he could've done better. If Bogg was demoted, it would be his fault for missing those points, though he didn't feel any were key. Finally he moved toward Phineas and smiled.

"You were great!" Phineas whispered as Jeff hugged him. He put his left arm around the kid, "thanks."

"They haven't ruled yet," Jeff said.

"Are you kidding? With you on my team there's no way they'll convict me! Come on, the first thing you did was get Brindle kicked out and replaced with Trevor. It was brilliant."

Jeff finally smiled, "yeah, that was a pretty good idea, wasn't it? Even Susan didn't think of that."

Phineas sighed and put his left arm over the sling on his right. He felt his energy level dropping now that the testimony was over.

Jeff eyed him with concern, "why don't we go back to the room to wait."

So they walked slowly back to the hospital wing. As they approached the area close to their room, Phineas stopped and sat down heavily on one of the benches that lined the corridor.

Jeff sat beside him. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just thinking that I didn't want to collapse before we got back to the room."

"Bogg!" Jeff stood up quickly.

"Just kidding," Phineas said quickly. "Actually, I didn't want to look so beat if I happened to see Jill."

"Jill?"

"One of the nurses."

"Blonde?"

"Yep."

"I met her too, she's nice," Jeff said, relieved to hear Bogg talking like himself.

"And beautiful."

Jeff rolled his eyes, "don't you care that she's nice?"

"All nurses are nice, that goes without saying kid."

Jeff shook his head in amazement. A few minutes later Bogg stood up, and Jeff walked him the rest of the way to their room. As soon as they reached it, Phineas lay down with a groan and it wasn't long before he'd dozed off.

ooOoo

The members of the Tribunal sat down at the conference table. Each opened their folder and they began to read. After a half-hour, Garth put down his glasses and rubbed his eyes. He was surprised that Kane was the first to speak.

"This is a brilliant summary of the situation. Of course we are at fault. I think we both suspected it when Mary first brought us the charges."

"I agree," Garth replied.

"He may have the greatest legal mind of the age."

"And wisdom too," Garth added.

"Wouldn't it make more sense to have him here, learning our laws, instead of traveling through the cosmos? We know he's supposed to have a great future. I know he's supposed to be with Bogg in the beginning, but we never found out for how long. Maybe he is supposed to stay at headquarters now. Maybe his legal training will lead him to greatness," Kane said.

"Somehow I don't see that happening," Trevor answered immediately. He had been listening to their comments, and agreed that Bogg was innocent.

"What makes you say that?"

"I doubt Phineas will agree to a separation, and since he's a Field Worker and needs to voyage, he'll keep Jeff close by.

"But Jeffrey is 13 years old now. In some cultures, he'd be considered a man. He might decide to stay."

Trevor shrugged, "he really seems to like voyaging."

"He hasn't seen what he'd be missing if he stayed here."

"Well, if we're through, I'd like to sign off on this and get back to Omni Control."

After he left, Kane spoke, "you know it's true, he is brilliant."

"Agreed."

"So shouldn't he have the choice?" Kane argued.

"Giving him the choice sounds reasonable," Garth answered.


	20. The Price of Brilliance

**Chapter 20 The Price of Brilliance**

Early that evening, Counselors Garth and Kane appeared at the door of their hospital room.

Jeff looked up as they knocked, then went over to stand next to Phineas, who was sitting in a chair.

"So what's the verdict?" Bogg asked, without any preliminary small talk. He didn't stand up to greet them.

"You're cleared of all charges," Kane began, "I'm sorry for the stress all this may have caused you."

"Hmm," Phineas grunted under his breath.

"But there was an upside to all this," Kane continued.

"What was that?"

"We now recognize Jeffrey's legal genius."

Jeff's head snapped up, "me?" he asked.

"Yes, you," Kane answered. "We were very impressed with your defense of Voyager Bogg and wanted to offer you an opportunity to begin your law education now."

"Now?"

"Yes."

"Thanks!" Jeff felt flattered. Here was a grown man, an elder, who acknowledged his work and had the power and authority to open doors for him. His future as a Voyager could depend on this. "But, what would that mean, exactly?"

"It would mean that you could stay on here now, and take classes toward a Counselor Degree."

"Really?"

"It's your decision of course. I can show you around the law building now so you can see for yourself all the opportunities here," Kane said.

Jeff turned to Bogg, "can I go?" he asked eagerly.

Phineas' heart was racing. Once again, he felt driven to prevent what he saw as a threat, but he didn't know how. This threat wasn't as straightforward as others he'd dealt with. Still, threat or not, how could he say no? He nodded, "sure."

Jeff smiled and before he knew it, Phineas was alone with Garth, staring at the empty doorway.

"Whose idiot idea was this?" Phineas asked the older man.

"Kane's."

Bogg lapsed into silence.

"Phineas, isn't it possible that you might not realize this could be good for Jeffrey?"

"No. This means we'll be separated. It can't be good for him."

"We'll recall you if he ever needs you."

"Follow-thru on something like that could be pretty weak, and you know it. He wouldn't have anyone to talk to, to turn to."

"An adult would be assigned to him…"

"He needs me! He needs protection!" The tone Phineas took with his former teacher was stern, as if their roles were reversed and he was admonishing a misbehaving student.

"You've had him with you for 2 years. We never found out from the records how long he was supposed to stay with you. Maybe he's supposed to stay here now," Garth argued.

"Maybe he's not."

"Phineas…"

"You can stand here as long as you want and you'll never convince me that we should be separated, so why don't you give up trying."

"He's brilliant Phineas!"

"He's a kid who needs a family!"

"You aren't a family!" Even as the words came out, Garth knew he was wrong.

"What would you know about it?"

"I'm sorry."

"Brindle hates him."

Silence.

"We can always recall you if something big happens… which it won't," Garth hurried through the last part.

"It's not only the big things," Bogg's voice became soft and Garth leaned forward to hear him finish. "Who will he talk to when he remembers his parent and feels sad? And what if he wakes up in the middle of the night?"

Garth stared at his former student in awe. He'd known that Phineas had traveled with Jeffrey as a partner for the past 2 years, but that knowledge was factual. Now he was learning something that he hadn't appreciated before. Bogg was devoted to Jeffrey. Somehow, he had been transformed from a great voyager, to a great voyager who was raising a child… the next generation. He seemed just as driven to prevent this move to headquarters as he had seemed in his quest to expose the boy to cowpox.

"Will you at least think about it?" Garth continued, finally giving up.

"I won't stop thinking about it."

As Professor Garth left the room, Phineas sat up on the edge of the bed. His heart was pounding and his mind racing. He knew he had to think of reasons to tell Jeff, to convince him to turn down this seemingly wonderful opportunity. He knew the kid too well, and felt he would have trouble turning this offer down.

The knock on the door startled him, and he looked up to see a woman's silhouette.

"Can I come in?"

Phineas motioned her through the doorway, and smiled as he took her outstretched hand.

"Hi, Voyager Bogg."

"Phineas please," he answered immediately.

"Phineas then," she paused and he admired her long dark hair as it drifted around her ear and curled under her chin. "My name is Katie Williamson, I'm one of the Omni Trackers in Mission Control."

Bogg nodded. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

She glanced around, "I was hoping to meet Jeffrey too, is he here?"

"He's busy, getting the royal tour of the law building," Phineas said with an edge to his voice. "They want him to stay and take classes instead of going back into the field.

"I heard about how he defended you," Katie replied, "he really impressed Trevor. You should've heard him talking about it when he got back to Control."

Bogg smiled, "sometimes Jeff's too smart for his own good."

"He belongs with you," Katie blurted out suddenly.

Phineas narrowed his eyes, "what do you know about us? Why are you here?"

She hesitated, then continued. "I know Rick Wilson. He told me about you…and Jeff."

"You didn't answer my question."

"I had to come to ask you, well, it's kind of strange, but, I know he did wrong, but, I can't seem to get him out of my mind."

Phineas smiled, finally understanding. "Well, he sure can use a friend about now. Have you seen him? How is he? He's the one who saved me and Jeff."

She nodded and spoke quietly. "Tell me what happened, please. I've only heard rumors and I want to know the truth."

So Phineas explained everything that had happened, including Rick's visit with Skylar.

Katie nodded slowly when he finished. "Thank you," she whispered, then stood up, I really mean it."

"No problem."

She paused at the door, "why don't you just tell Jeff he can't stay?" she offered.

"I don't think that would go over too well," Phineas answered. "I tried forcing my decision on him once and he swore he'd never speak to me again." The memory of Jeff's reaction to the cowpox exposure briefly crossed Bogg's mind. "A logical argument would be a lot nicer to have, but so far I don't have one."

"But he did talk to you again."

"I can't do that to him again, but thanks for the advice."

Once again he found himself staring at an empty doorway, his mind still in turmoil about what he could say to Jeff to convince him not to stay at headquarters. He stood up and began to pace back and forth, wracking his brain, trying to think of a logical argument he could use to show Jeff that this offer wasn't in his best interests. He knew he'd have to burst the kids bubble when he finally got back from such an exciting tour, and he hated to do that, but he didn't have a choice, did he?

Out of fairness to Garth, he forced himself to consider that it might be the right thing for Jeff and wondered if he was putting his own wishes first. He hoped not, but his feelings were so strong about this that it was possible he was doing just that. He suddenly felt weak and sat down on the edge of the bed again and put his head in his hands. "I can't think any more and I still don't know what to do," he said aloud to the empty room.


	21. Persuasion

**Chapter 21 Persuasion**

Katie left Bogg's room and walked out of the medical unit. She paused where two corridors intersected, deep in thought. To the left was the way back to Mission Control and the main compound. To the right, was the law complex. She had spent the first two years of her career at headquarters, working in the law building and knew it well.

She knew exactly where Jeff would be taken on tour. The area was huge, but if they wanted to impress him and convince him to stay, there were certain things they would definitely take him to see.

She turned right and headed back to her old haunts, confident she could find Jeff.

The law complex was enormous. It was comprised of several buildings, and held three of the largest libraries that Jeffrey had ever seen, as well as dorm rooms for all the students. It was located next to the court rooms, so students could observe hearings and trials.

"So, what do you think?"

"This is amazing!" Jeff answered enthusiastically. As they walked around, Jeff tried to take in everything. When they reached the dorm rooms and he saw the students, he finally asked the question he'd been wondering about.

"If I lived here, where would Bogg stay?"

Kane paused and looked at him. "Voyager Bogg is a Field Worker," he explained, "he would be on assignment."

"Oh," Jeff said softly. Now he finally understood. If he decided to stay here, he wouldn't be with Bogg anymore.

"But we recognize that Voyager Bogg is important to you. He would be recalled if you were sick or injured. And he would be able to visit every few months."

"Months?" Jeff said.

"I know you've voyaged on your own and done quite well. You can't tell me that you need Voyager Bogg with you constantly. A smart kid like you? You'll be fine. And you'll be so busy that a month will go by like that," and he snapped his fingers to emphasize.

Jeff frowned and followed along to the next stop on the tour. What Kane said was true. He had voyaged alone, and solved more than one red light without Bogg's help. And after all, he was thirteen, maybe a few months wasn't really that long a time. Maybe he could actually do this.

"Hey Jeff!"

He turned his head toward the female voice and watched a tall woman approach. She was thin, with long, dark hair.

"Voyager Williamson, I thought you had transferred out of the legal department?" asked Kane.

"I heard Jeff was here and I've been his tracker in Mission Control. I wanted to meet him," she explained. "Are you done? I can walk him back."

Kane smiled at her, "an excellent idea." He turned to Jeff, "you would be able to learn about Mission Control too, if you stayed here to study. Katie can explain what's there while she walks you back."

Jeff nodded, "okay."

"I'll stop by tomorrow for your decision," and he bade them goodbye with a wink. As he walked away, he thought about the good luck of finding someone from Mission Control to speak with Jeffrey. He was confident that now the boy would choose to stay.

"You can call me Katie," she began as she led the way along the corridor.

"Did you really track me? What do you see when you do that? How do you know it's me? What about Bogg, do you track him too?" Jeff was fascinated by the woman's job. He knew he could learn a lot from her.

Katie laughed, "Listen, I'll answer all your questions I promise. But first, I want to tell you why I left the legal department."

Jeff stopped walking and looked at her. "Why did you leave?"

"I was here for two years, and in all that time, I never really felt connected to anyone."

"What about now, in Mission Control?"

She nodded.

"Who are you?"

"I'm sorry, I should've said. I'm a friend of Rick Wilson."

Jeff smiled, "he saved my life… and Bogg's too."

"I know."

"Did Bogg send you to convince me not to stay?"

"No, he doesn't know I'm talking to you."

"So, what's wrong with the legal department?"

"Nothing, but for me, most of the people here are a bit aloof. It's hard to get close to them."

They started walking again, and Jeff tried to sort through everything he'd seen and heard. It was an amazing place, and a wonderful offer. He felt very tempted, and Kane had given him a new reason to accept it. He'd said that it might be easier for Bogg if Jeff stayed here. It would mean Bogg wouldn't have the responsibility for a kid in the field any more.

On the other hand, Jeff wasn't sure he'd be happy here alone. Even if he lived with a new guardian, like Kane described, it wouldn't be the same as being with Bogg.

There was so much to consider, and even though he'd given Kane a tentative answer already, right now, he found himself on the fence.

ooOoo

Katie brought Jeffrey back to Bogg and said her goodbyes.

Phineas stared at Jeffrey as Katie left, his stomach tight. "How was the tour?"

"Great!"

"So what do you think?" Phineas asked, dreading the answer he might hear.

"I think I know what I want to do. But, I want to know what you think?" Jeff said and Bogg's heart sunk. After seeing everything the law building had to offer, he was sure that Jeff was excited about attending. He'd always been one to jump into a challenge.

"I'd like to think some more about it kid," Phineas replied, but he'd already been thinking and he still didn't know what to say. The kid was brilliant; he'd known that for a long time. It must be hard for him, traveling with someone who was not so brilliant. Here at headquarters, he'd be surrounded by brilliance. Why did Bogg continue to feel like he had to protect him from that? "Ask me tomorrow," he said finally, and settled down for one of the longest nights of his life.

He slept lightly and awoke often, his mind examining each argument both for and against Jeff staying here without him. He kept returning to one fact, here Jeff would be safer than out in the field. That should make the decision easy, but illogical as it sounded, Bogg just didn't think that was the right choice. He was sure the Tribunal had thought of it however. Finally he dozed off into a restless sleep.


	22. Katie

**Chapter 22 Katie**

Rick Wilson sat dejectedly on the narrow bed in the minimum security cell. He'd been surprised that Katie had come to see him this morning. He pictured her sitting in front of him and thought about everything they said.

She had asked him to explain his actions. She had wanted to understand. And with a heavy heart, he had done just that. He hadn't held anything back. He'd confessed everything, poured his heart out really, and tried to convey to her how ashamed and sorry he felt.

But there was one thing he couldn't say, and he knew now that he'd never get the chance to say it. She was never coming back, he was sure of it. He would never get to tell her that from the first time he'd seen her, he had fallen in love with her. He'd never believed in love at first sight, but then it had happened. Out of the blue, an anvil hit him and he'd known it was true love. As he got to know her better, the feeling had only grown stronger. When he finally asked her out and she'd said yes so quickly, it seemed like it was meant to be. He could still feel where she'd brushed purposefully against his arm. It was right before Drake had made his last request and Rick's life finished spinning out of control. And now he was alone. Soon he would face the Tribunal and answer for his actions.

Still, he was glad he'd come back. Even to see Katie one more time, it was worth it.

A key clicked in the lock. "Time to go," the guard's voice said.

He rose and walked out without comment. It was time to bite the bullet.

He entered the courtroom with his eyes downcast, and sat in the seat he was shown. When he felt a warm hand on his shoulder, he looked around and his eyes widened in disbelief. Katie was leaning forward, from her seat in the visitor section of the room. The warmth of her hand made his heart seem to melt and for a moment he was too shocked to speak.

"What are you doing here?" he whispered.

She looked at him with a steady gaze. "I thought you could use a friend," she said, repeating the words she'd heard from Phineas a short time ago.


	23. Jeff's Decision

**Chapter 23 Jeff's Decision**

The next morning, Jeff bounced out of bed and walked over to Phineas. "So have you decided what you think?" His partner had already dressed and was sitting on the edge of the bed. As he watched him move stiffly, shifting position, he could see that his arm was hurting him. Jeff sat down on the edge of the bed beside him and waited.

After a pause, Bogg answered him. "Yes."

"And?"

Phineas took a deep breath, sure that Jeff would disagree with him and wishing that he didn't have to remind him of painful memories. "Well, it is a great opportunity, but I don't think you should take it."

"Why not?"

"A couple of reasons," he paused, unsure how to phrase his thoughts. "Something terrible happened to you. You lost your family, and your childhood got messed up. I know I'm not much, but I feel like we're a family now, and I think you need that. More than you would if the accident hadn't happened."

"Oh," Jeff's answer was soft, and he felt a sudden anger toward Bogg for mentioning his parents. At the same time he felt Bogg's arm behind his back and a hand on his shoulder. His throat felt constricted and he blinked back tears as Bogg continued.

"But, ignoring all that, I still don't think it's a good idea."

Jeff steadied himself and tried to answer without conveying any emotions. "Why not?"

"Because, even though you act grown up," the phrase _'you're still a kid'_ flashed in his mind, but he didn't say it, "you aren't quite there yet."

He paused, but Jeff didn't reply.

"Once you're an adult, you'll be one for the rest of your life. You can't go back. Just be a kid for as long as you can."

Silence.

"It would be easier for you if I stayed here, wouldn't it?" Jeff finally asked. He had to know what Bogg thought about this.

"That sounds like Kane talking."

"He said you wouldn't have to worry about me on missions if I was here."

"I'll always worry about you. If we're on a mission, I worry when you're out of my sight. But if you were here without me, I'd be worried all the time. I'd be a mess. It wouldn't be easier, that's for sure. Kane doesn't know what it's like."

"What what's like?"

"Taking care of a kid."

"So you really want me to stay with you? To turn down this great opportunity?"

"More than anything," Phineas' whispered, his heart pounding. He couldn't say it any plainer.

Jeff felt warm inside, his anger over Bogg bringing up his parent's deaths was forgotten. Suddenly he smiled, the choice seemed so obvious now.

"There's one more reason," Phineas continued.

"What's that?"

"There aren't any girls your age here."

Jeffrey burst out laughing. "Only you would think of that!" he choked out when he could talk.

"What's so funny about that?" Phineas asked and reached out with his left arm tickle his kid.

"Hey, stop!" Jeff squeeled and reached over to reciprocate.

"Careful" Bogg said, immediately covering his right arm with his left. This left his left side exposed and Jeff tickled him just until he squirmed.

"I'll get ya later," Jeff told him as he stopped.

After they calmed down, Bogg spoke first, "so what do you want to do?"

"I already gave them my answer."

Bogg's jaw dropped, "you did?" he said in a serious voice. "I thought we were gonna talk about it? You asked what I thought?"

Jeff shrugged, "I gave an answer but I wasn't positive. Kane said he'll stop by today to see what my final answer is."

"What did you tell them?"

"That I really appreciated the offer, but I couldn't accept it."

Phineas smiled widely, "and you decided that without my winning arguments? What led you to that decision?"

"I'd miss you too much," Jeff said simply. "That bit about the girls though... that was genius, I should've seen that coming, you do have a one-track mind sometimes."

"You just called me a genius," Bogg said with a smile.

"Yeah."

"Well, here's another genius idea, why don't you sit in on one of those legal classes while we're here. And why can't you do the same for the mission control classes?"

Jeff sat up straight, "really?"

"Why not?"

"They might not let me, they're pretty long on rules you know."

"If they say no, you can just go and research the rules and argue your way into the course."

Jeff chuckled, "you know, we do make a pretty good team."

"I think I know a girl who can get you into any class you want."

"How could you know a law professor?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Bogg said in mock astonishment. "Anyway, it's not a professor we need, it's a secretary. As I always say, be nice to the secretaries, because they're the people who really run the place."

"I've never heard you say that."

"Must be another one of those billions of things I'm teaching you I guess."

Suddenly, Jeff leaned sideways and put his arms around the man. "Thanks," he whispered.

"For what?"

"For taking care of me. For being as much like my parents as anyone could be."

Bogg's throat felt tight. That was about the nicest thing that he could imagine Jeffrey saying. He leaned back and looked into the kid's eyes, his hand still on Jeff's shoulder. "I'll never stop," was all he could manage to say. And he was happy that it made Jeffrey smile.

The End

_Author's Note: The protective effects of a smallpox vaccination start to wear off after 3-5 years. Bogg exposed Jeffrey to cowpox because he couldn't be sure whether or not he was immune to smallpox. The fact that he became ill with cowpox was a strong indication that he would have gotten smallpox if he'd been exposed to it. _


End file.
